The Dragon & The Mockingjay
by Ellana-san
Summary: Haymitch didn't know how to speak to four years old and being left in charge of one hadn't exactly been in his short term plans. And yet.When he is forced to adopt a toddler Katniss, Haymitch's whole life is turned upside down. (modern au)
1. Chapter 1

_Hello everyone and welcome back for a brand new hayffie story!_

 _What is "The Dragon & The Mockingjay" you'll ask and how does it have any link at all with hayffie. And I will answer, this story is a toddler au based on Archervale (who you can find either on deviantart or tumblr and whose drawings I really encourage you to go look at) 's drawings of hayffie taking care of toddler Katniss and Peeta. _

_This story is 12 chapters in all, chapters are rather long so I hope you don't get bored and I hope you enjoy the ride!_

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 _ **The Dragon & The Mockingjay**_

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 _ **1.**_

The four year old girl stared back at Haymitch steadily.

It wasn't silent, not really. The echo of the geese's honking in the yard provided a background noise, he could hear the familiar hum of the fridge in the kitchen and the logs regularly popping in the living-room's fireplace. Yet the silence _between_ _them_ felt heavy.

The kid had some balls, he would give her that. He had half-expected her to wail as soon as she had put a foot in the house but so far no tears had appeared even when the social worker had left, obviously in a hurry to go on to better things. He knew the Seam was a small town, lost in the middle of nowhere in the Appalachia region, but, still, one would expect more diligence from someone responsible for little kids. They had hardly looked into him at all, happy to discharge the responsibility of one more orphan to her closest living relative.

A relative she had never seen before in her short life.

Hence why he had been expecting tears and a tantrum that would have been more than understandable given the circumstances.

"We've got the same eyes." he said – which, admittedly, was the dumbest thing to open a conversation with anyone and especially a four years old.

The thing was, Haymitch _didn't know_ how to speak to four years old and being left in charge of one hadn't exactly been in his short term plans.

Taking in a niece he had never knew existed sort of took the cake of his relatively shitty life at the moment – even if they _did_ have the same grey eyes. What else was there to do though? He had never known his half-sister – his father had been an asshole who had abandoned him, his mother and his brother to a life of poverty to play family elsewhere, in the richest part of town, and as far as Haymitch had been concerned that had been the end of that. He had always known he had a half-sister somewhere, he had even known her name was Aster and he had also known what she looked like for having glimpsed her once or twice – the Seam wasn't that big – but he had never _talked_ to her and he had been only too happy to forget everything about the whole thing when he had left for the Army.

Of course, that had proved to be another load of _shit_ but it was written somewhere that whatever decision he took would always come back to bite him in the ass.

The point was, though, that he had never known Aster and yet it had still felt like being punched in the guts when the social worker had told him on the phone that she, her husband and her youngest daughter who, if he had understood correctly, had barely been one year old, had died in a car crash – and not only because his own mother and brother had died in similar circumstances. Katniss was left all alone in the world with him for only living relative and it didn't matter that he was already a _shitty_ uncle who hadn't known her name a few days earlier, her parents hadn't left a will and thus it was either him or the system. He had hesitated, he _really_ had, because he wasn't uncle material – never mind _parent_ material – and he had thought maybe she would be better off out there.

He couldn't bring himself to abandon her though. She was a survivor, like him. And he might do a _shitty_ job of it but he could at least _try_. He owed it to that stranger he had never really called a sister but who had still been in his thoughts some times during his life.

Katniss was staring, unwavering, standing in the exact same spot the social worker had left her in while she had made him sign some papers. There was a big messenger bag tossed over her shoulder that looked far too heavy for a kid, a navy suitcase almost as high as she was behind her and another duffel bag at her feet. It was all she had with her. It wasn't much. Then again, from what he had gathered, his half-sister hadn't exactly been rich. The tables had turned somewhere down the line.

Funny how life worked.

"Okay." he said when she remained silent, only jutting her little chin higher in the air. Her long dark hair was tied up in a ponytail and he hoped she was old enough to take care of it by herself because he was already dreading having to play hairdresser. "Do you want to see the house? Your room?"

He had cleaned up. Or he had tried to, at least. Chaff often joked that his house looked exactly like the geese pen in the yard and smelled almost as bad. He lived alone and he was no angel in the house. He had made an effort though. He had picked up the empty bottles of liquor that usually littered his floor as well as the dirty dishes he had a habit of leaving everywhere, he had vacuumed and mopped the floor, he had tidied up the kitchen and stocked the fridge with different sodas in hope she would like one of them, he had tried to make the bathroom on the first floor landing useable – which had actually been the easy part since he mostly used the one en-suited to the master bedroom – and he had made sure the guest room was livable.

Katniss was very good at the silent staring. It was almost creepy.

Kids were supposed to be loud and boisterous, weren't they?

Well… Maybe not kids who had lost their entire family a few days earlier. He already felt like an asshole.

The messenger bag moved.

Haymitch blinked, wondering if it was the lack of liquor – he had been flirting for years on the line between possible alcoholic and complete drunk – but there _was_ a ruffling sound and then it moved again.

"Sweetheart, what do you have in there?" he frowned.

She held the bag closer to her chest, defensive, but didn't take a single step back, almost challenging him to try and pry it away. His question was answered when a ginger tomcat's head peered out of the bag, pushing the lapel away enough to sniff the air. The cat looked positively monstrous. And it hissed when Katniss tried to push it back inside.

He should probably have been concerned about a possible danger for the kid but he couldn't help a smirk. "You sneaked _that_ past the social worker?"

"His name is Buttercup!" she snapped petulantly, finally succeeding in pushing the cat back down in the bag. "He's Prim's cat and they were going to leave him all alone! He's _mine_ now."

There was a clear challenge there, she was almost daring him to object. It would probably have been a good time to start putting boundaries and rules in place but he was impressed by the sneaking around of a cat under that woman's nose. The social worker had taken her back to the house only long enough to pick up some essential things. How attentive to his niece had she been if she hadn't even noticed her shoving an angry cat inside her bag?

Plus, Prim was the other kid's name – the baby niece he would never get to know – and he wasn't cruel enough to make a four years old abandon her dead sister's cat.

"Okay." he shrugged. "I think you can let him out now. Let him explore."

She looked uncertain, as if she had expected an outright refusal and wasn't sure this wasn't a trick to get rid of Buttercup. She scowled for several minutes, obviously thinking hard, and then she slowly put the bag down. The cat didn't lose a second before dashing away and disappearing down the corridor. Haymitch simply hoped he wouldn't try to tackle the geese.

"Want to explore too?" he offered, awkwardly outstretching his hand.

She eyed it with open mistrust and stepped right past him, poking her head in the first door on the right which happened to be the living-room. She wandered around the room for a while, looking at some of the things he rarely used like the dvd player and touching some of the things he _did_ use like his bookshelves.

"Do you have fairy tales?" she asked, letting her little hand run over the cracked spins of books she wouldn't be able to read before at least a decade – and the thought that she would _still_ be there in a decade made him falter for a bit.

"No, sweetheart." he winced. Her arrival had been short-notice. It had taken a few days for the social worker to track him down and it had taken two more for him to make up his mind. "We can get some if you want."

"Prim likes the princess ones. It makes her laugh." she declared. "But I like the ones with dragons and adventures."

"Okay." he agreed easily and he knew he was saying okay an awful lot but he was _so_ out of his depths… Whatever. Princesses, dragons, adventures… He was up for anything as long as she didn't start wailing. He truly wouldn't know what to do with a wailing kid. He was a little disturbed by the way she kept talking about her sister in present tense but he figured she was still young and maybe it would take a little while to sink in.

"It's a big room." she commented.

"It's a big house." he offered. Too big for him alone. He had bought it after his first big mission in the army, intending for his mother and brother to move in. Life had prevented that.

"My house is smaller." she conceded. "But I like it better."

"Fair enough." he sighed.

Granted Haymitch wasn't an expert in kids but she must have been the oddest little girl he had ever seen. When she was done touring the ground floor, he grabbed her stuff and hauled it up the stairs. The cat had already made himself at home on the windowsill of the guest room and hissed when he showed her in.

"Nice pet you have, sweetheart." he snorted.

She wrinkled her little nose in obvious distaste. "I hate him, he never wants me to pet him."

He almost asked her why they were burdening themselves with it, then, but thought better of it. Her sister's cat, she had said. She wouldn't want to be parted from it.

She looked around with a frown. "I sleep here?"

"Yeah." he said, placing the suitcase and the duffle bag near the wardrobe. It wasn't exactly children friendly. There was a double bed, a wardrobe, a dresser and a threadbare rug, all intended for _adults_. He had bought the house furnished and had never seen a need to change it. "We'll get you some funnier things, okay? Pink even."

"I don't like pink." she retorted.

"Of course you don't." he sighed. It would have been _too_ easy if she had been a stereotypical kid. She didn't want princesses, she wanted _dragons_. She didn't want pink, she wanted… "I will let you settle in."

He didn't leave her a chance to agree or disagree with that, he went back downstairs, eager for some space to process everything. His steps automatically took him to the kitchen and to the cupboard he had hidden the liquor in. He poured himself a drink, took a sip and then tossed everything down the drain. He couldn't drink with a kid in his house, could he? Not the first day at the very least. Not _ever_ , really. He couldn't let her see him drunk. It would frighten her and he might hurt her by accident…

He went to feed the geese, needing a distraction. He would leave her a couple of hours to herself, he decided, it would give her time to unpack and then… They would figure it out. One step at a time, it was all he was capable of at the moment. One step at a time.

A couple of hours later – a couple of hours he spent roaming the house aimlessly – she had yet to come back down and the house was entirely too silent for his comfort.

He cautiously went up the stairs to check on her and found her sitting on the rug in front of the bed, hugging her tiny legs close to her chest. She wasn't crying but her lips were wobbling and she was rocking back and forth. The luggage remained untouched.

"What's wrong?" he asked, immediately worried. With his luck, she was sick. He crouched next to her, reaching for her forehead. She was warm but not in a feverish way. At least he didn't think so. "You're okay, sweetheart?"

"I need to go pee pee." she sniffed.

"Then go…" he said, not understanding where the problem was. "You can go by yourself, yeah? You don't need help?"

"I'm a big girl!" she said defensively, as if he had just insulted her.

"I know." he offered. "You've been a very big girl since you've arrived. Very brave." She was mildly placated by that so he took his chance. "What's the problem, sweetheart?"

"I don't remember where the bathroom is." she finally confessed with another sniff that he was very afraid would lead to crying.

"You should have looked around." he said, standing up to lead the way. "It's your house too now."

"You left." she accused him, following him so closely she bumped into his legs when he stopped in front of the bathroom.

"I was downstairs." he countered.

"That's still not _here_." she pointed out before slamming the bathroom door shut. He had thought only teenagers slammed doors. Clearly he needed some help with the _kids_ business. He waited in the corridor, not keen on being accused of leaving again. The door opened after only a minute and she glowered at him. "I need help to wash my hands. Mommy says it's _important_."

Again with the present tense, he thought.

He found a box that, once upturned, could be used as footboard for her to reach the sink. She declared herself satisfied with that solution but the glaring informed him he wasn't entirely forgiven for not thinking about everything by himself.

She wandered back to her bedroom so he followed, feeling a little as if the roles had been reversed and he was the four years old and Katniss the grown up.

"You didn't unpack." he noticed, poking at the suitcase. "You got any other cats in there?"

She sat back down on the rug and looked at him as if he was crazy. "Mommy cleans. I just help. I don't know where things go."

Yeah, on second thought, expecting a kid so young to put her clothes away was maybe a bit much.

"I'm going to suck _balls_ at this." he sighed while dragging the suitcase on the bed so he could see what was inside.

"Why do you want to suck balls?" she asked, puzzled. "That's _yucky_! Balls go in the mud when you play."

He opened his mouth and wisely closed it again. The first item he found was a toilet bag with a toothbrush, some strawberry toothpaste, a hairbrush, hair ties and some pins…

"You want to go put that in the bathroom?" he suggested, handing it to her. "You can decide where everything goes. It's your bathroom."

"Bathroom for me only?" she asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah." he nodded.

He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She didn't seem to know either but she ran away with the toilet bag. He thought about forbidding her to run in the house and then shrugged, deciding if she fell it would be more of a deterrent than whatever he would ever say. As long as she didn't fall down the stairs that was – he was doing _great_ already, he thought not without irony. She came back and grabbed a handful of tee-shirts before dumping them in a heap in the drawer he had been filling with her clothes. She looked so proud of herself for helping that he patted her head awkwardly and continued with his own task until he uncovered an old stuffed animal frayed in some places.

"My Mockingjay!" Katniss exclaimed and jumped to snatch the thing from his hand. She held it close to her heart with both arms.

"Your what?" he asked, eyebrows creased in confusion. It was some kind of black and white bird... A magpie, maybe.

"That's my _Mockingjay_." she repeated, narrowing her eyes in that way he was quickly learning meant he was an idiot.

"Okay, I'll bite, what's a Mockingjay?" he sighed.

She didn't look impressed by his lack of knowledge. "It's a special bird who can sing like humans. It's like a mockingbird but with a _jay_. My Daddy says so."

"It's a very pretty... Mockingjay." he offered.

She nodded gravely. "It's rare."

"I bet it is." he humored her.

It didn't take much longer to put everything away for the good reason that there wasn't much to begin with. The messenger bag in which she had been carrying the cat was more interesting: a framed picture of her family that was dutifully placed on the nightstand next to her bed, a worn out leather jacket that she put on but was so big on her she looked like she could drown in it – it was her father's, or so she told him with wobbly lips before breathing in the smell that must have still been clinging to it – and a golden pin with a bird that her friend had gifted her with. Everything had clearly been snatched from the house while the social worker hadn't been looking. She had been thorough in her theft. No toys.

The toys were in the duffel bag. Some pencils and coloring books, a plastic bow complete with plastic arrows, a book on birds and a few tin figurines. No dolls or anything like that but he hadn't really expected to find any anyway. She didn't look the kind to spend hours having tea parties and playing dress-up with dolls. They put the toys in a drawer until they could find a chest or something to use as a toy box. And _until_ he could buy her _more_ toys. He and his brother had had next to nothing growing up but he had money now and he would buy her whatever she wanted.

"Pasta for dinner, sounds good?" he asked. It _better_ sounded good because it was probably the only thing he knew how to cook properly apart from stew, soup and take-outs. "Or do you want pizza?"

"Pasta." she decided.

He expected her to remain in her room and play but she followed him downstairs and sat at the kitchen table while he got everything ready, clutching her Mockingjay to her chest.

She wasn't talkative and that suited Haymitch just fine. He tried to make her laugh once or twice but his best jokes were not suitable for small children and, in the end, they ate mostly in silence. Convincing her to take off the leather jacket to get into pajamas was difficult but he managed well enough, mentally patting himself on the back for the notorious absence of tears. She was clearly independent and didn't really required his help further than to draw her a bath, help her in the bathtub and out of it – which was embarrassing in itself because he didn't know the kid and he was ill-at-ease. She had everything else covered.

He didn't know when bedtime was supposed to be, he wished they had left a manual or something, but she was rubbing her eyes and she was clearly tired so once she was in her pajamas, he helped her on the bed that was too high for her to reach on her own without a lot of climbing, tucked her in – or tried to, at least – mumbled a goodnight and shuffled out of the room. He passed by Buttercup on his way downstairs, the cat was obviously plotting his murder.

He collapsed on a kitchen chair and let out a deep breath.

He wasn't exactly surprised when Chaff opened the backdoor and came in without a knock or an invitation. He had suspected his best friend would show up at some point.

Chaff took one look at him and wordlessly fetched two glasses in the cupboard.

"Milk for me." Haymitch mumbled.

"That bad?" his friend laughed. It turned out the milk was sour. _Go figure_.

They had barely settled down around a glass of some disgusting pink soda – he didn't know what it tasted like and he didn't particularly want to find out, he had bought it because he had figured kids liked it and Katniss would like pink – when there was a noise upstairs and then the sound of sock clad feet running down the stairs.

"Katniss?" he called out.

She was quick in rushing through the door and colliding with his chair, almost slicing her head open in two in the process.

"Where's the fire, kiddo?" Chaff teased.

She froze when she realized Haymitch wasn't alone but quickly recovered and put on her best scowl. That girl could have won scowling competitions.

"I don't want to be upstairs by myself." she promptly declared.

"You're scared?" he frowned. "'Cause there's nothing to be scared of, sweetheart. I can..."

"I'm not _scared_!" she cut him off petulantly. If possible, the scowl deepened.

"Well, she has a temper. Must run in the family." Chaff commented, taking a sip of his soda. He made a face and placed it down. "This is disgusting."

He used his stump to push the glass away and that caught Katniss' attention. She edged closer, watching him warily from under her fringe, ready to bolt at the first movement – or maybe to use the magpie/Mockingjay stuffed toy as a weapon, that was anyone's guess.

"You don't have a hand." she said flatly.

 _Talk about bluntness..._

Chaff's laughter boomed out in the kitchen. "She's your niece alright, Haymitch!"

Katniss frowned and turned to him, waiting for him to explain.

"You can't really say that sort of things to people like that." he winced.

"Why?" she demanded. "He doesn't have a hand."

He shrugged. "You know... I never got the hang of it so... Never mind."

She looked as if the whole sidetrack conversation had been a great inconvenience and turned back to Chaff.

"You don't have a hand." she stated again. In case he had missed it the two first times, Haymitch figured.

"I had one." Chaff explained, showing her his stump. "I lost it."

"Like a boo boo?" she caught up, reaching out to touch the scarred tissues. Most kids would have run away but Katniss studied it with some interest. She poked it, wrinkling her nose as if she expected it to start bleeding.

"Sort of." Chaff nodded. "I was a soldier like your uncle."

"My Mommy fixes people's boo boos." she said, completely ignoring the rest. "But my Mommy isn't here."

Chaff glanced at him uneasily and Haymitch rubbed his face, at a loss for what to say.

"Yeah, I heard. Sorry about that, kiddo." his friend eventually mumbled. "It's already fixed though. Look, all good." He hit his stump against the palm of his other hand a few times.

Katniss had completely lost interest in that though. "The lady said Mommy and Daddy and Prim aren't coming back."

She was blinking fast but he could see the tears shining in her eyes and he had no idea what to do about it.

"I'm going to go." Chaff said, standing up and clapping him on the shoulder once before making his escape _. Lucky him_.

With a sigh – because he had _never_ wanted to break a four years old's little heart, thank you very much – he lifted her up and sat her down on the kitchen table so he could sit in front of her and they would be at eye level. She wriggled her legs and her feet kept hitting him in the thighs but he didn't complain.

"They explained what happened to your family, yeah?" he asked, as gently as he could.

She wouldn't meet his eyes. She looked down, her face veiled by her long ponytail. "They're not coming back and now I live with you forever."

"Yeah, pretty much." he nodded. "But you know they didn't want to leave you, right? You know it wasn't their choice?"

She glanced up at that but it was brief. "But they won't come back."

"They can't, sweetheart." he whispered. "I'm so sorry but they can't." Her legs wriggled harder, hitting him in the chest. He wrapped his hands around her calves to put an end to that. "It's going to be okay, Katniss. I know you don't believe me but I'll make it okay. I'll try."

That wasn't a promise he had intended to make. He never made promises he wasn't sure he could fulfill. But what else could he say to the kid? That she would suffer forever and that even if he only had the best intentions he would inevitably fuck up?

"But what happens if I get a boo boo and Mommy isn't here to fix it?" she muttered.

"I will fix it." he shrugged.

"And what happens if you leave too and never come back?" she insisted.

"I won't leave." he replied. And he guessed that was it for his slow descent into alcoholism. No more booze. He would have to find other ways to cope.

He kept expecting her to burst into tears but she was made of stronger stuff than that. She nodded, not quite believing him he suspected, and hopped down from the table before declaring she would wait with him on the couch and fall asleep there while he watched TV and he could carry her to bed afterwards like her Daddy did. Haymitch wasn't really a great TV watcher but the compromise seemed a good one so he followed her plan, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The other shoe dropped the next morning.

It didn't start in the best way. She stumbled in the kitchen, rubbing her eyes, clutching her Mockingjay in one hand and her hairbrush in the other, while he was trying to cook eggs for breakfast. There was a fine line between crisped and burnt and he was on the charred side of it. She made a face when he dropped the eggs on her plate and demanded her cereals. He didn't have any cereals in the house. He added grocery shopping to the list of things to do.

She was grumpy after that and waved the hairbrush at him, clearly expecting him to do something about her tangled hair. Maybe they should have untied the ponytail before she went to bed because it had come half undone and it was a mess of strands coiled around the hair tie. He did his best but her repeated affirmations that "Mommy never does it like that" weren't helping. By the time he managed to get the hair tie out of her hair, she wasn't just grumpy, she was sulking. It only grew worse when he tried to actually brush her hair. She didn't say anything but he knew he must have been hurting her.

"Braid." she requested.

"Do I look like I know how to braid hair?" he scowled.

She gave him a glance over her shoulder that told him she thought he didn't look like he could do _anything_ – and certainly not braids or eggs.

And the _fucking_ cat kept mewling despite the fact that Haymitch had already given him some scraps of bacon and a bowl of water.

"Are you ever going to _shut up_?" he snapped at the animal who hissed back at him. "What kind of food did you give him before?"

Adopting a cat had been even lower on his list of things to do than adopting a niece. It wasn't that he didn't like cats but _that one_? That one was the devil in disguise. He had tried to claw him twice already.

"He doesn't want food he wants Prim!" Katniss shouted back. The cat had jumped on the table, trying to investigate what was in the plates and she pushed him away with all her strength only managing to get her hand scratched in the process. "She's dead, you stupid cat!"

For a second, time seemed to freeze.

But that word, out of her own mouth, so big for someone so small, seemed to be her undoing. The tears he had dreaded all afternoon the previous day were there now. She was sobbing and screaming and she struggled when he picked her up – what else could he do but pick her up? – but then she wrapped her arms around his neck and she cried and _cried_...

He tried to rock her, to walk around and make soothing sounds but he knew, deep down, there was nothing he could do to assuage her grief. He was painfully acquainted with that particular sorrow.

She made herself sick and it only made her cry harder.

Haymitch was completely at a loss but he did what he could until she eventually fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.

She didn't mention anything when she woke up but she became clingy, following him everywhere around the house. The geese seemed to take her mind away from everything for a while. She said they were ugly but she liked birds, she was delighted to learn those ones had teeth and she even played at hunting them for a while, hiding behind rocks and piles of wood to jump on an unsuspecting bird. He hovered a little at first, worried she would get herself bitten, but she was swift on her feet and very good at running away from the geese before they became aggressive. The gaggle accepted that new game with the stoicism of a flock of birds used to being hunted by foxes and the occasional wild cat. In comparison, the little human was certainly not as bad.

Watching her play in the yard gave Haymitch hope.

It was bad for now but maybe... Katniss was _strong_. She would make it through this and, hopefully, things would get better.

The both of them had a whole life ahead to learn how to get better.

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 _Did you like it? Next week familiar faces will pop up ;) Let me know what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**2.**_

Things _did_ gradually get better.

As the days passed, they settled into a routine that certainly wasn't common but that worked for them. Haymitch got better at brushing her hair but not at tying it up. Katniss consented to explain everything he did wrong or didn't know how to do albeit with so much annoyance that he knew she barely considered it possible that someone would be _that_ ignorant.

She had nightmares and usually finished the night curled up against his side. He had toyed with the idea of bringing her to talk to someone but, as Chaff had pointed out, it had never done either of them any good and she seemed relatively okay for now. Besides, she was instinctively mistrustful of strangers. It took a whole week for her to relax in Haymitch's presence and two weeks of regular random visits – always bearing small gifts – from Chaff before she accepted him like a fixed feature in her new life. Aside for that she did seem to be adapting well, better than he was in any case.

The first time she called him _Uncle Haymitch_ he almost had a panic attack at the realization that it was real. He was her uncle, he was responsible for her, this was, as she had so aptly put it on her first night in the house, _forever_.

She was a handful.

She wasn't a chatty kid and it was sometimes easy enough to forget she was even there. She was happy to watch her cartoons on TV – although never for too long, she was active. Her favorite was _The_ _Avengers_ and he had promptly been informed that the best one was Hawkeye because he had a bow.

She was big on bows and arrows…

She talked his ear off about a _Brave_ Disney movie until he caved in and bought it just so she would stop trying to explain the story to him. He didn't know if it had been a wise choice because she often jumped on him with her plastic bow, proudly stating "I am Katniss", before going back to her favorite game of pretending to hunt either Buttercup or the geese. He bought some more Disney movies in hope she would soon grow out of the Merida phase and into something that wouldn't risk giving him a heart attack every time she shot plastic arrows that didn't even fly straight at him.

She declared _Sleeping Beauty_ boring halfway through despite the dragon, she fell asleep during _Snow White, she_ found some interest in _Cinderella_ only because the cat reminded her of Buttercup and she made him sit through three rewatches of _Brave_ to make up for the awful movies he had picked. She loved _Tangled_ (and he had to hide frying pans for days not to get knocked out during one of her games), _The Little Mermaid_ (Ariel could sing and Katniss loved to sing), and _Mulan_. _Mulan_ was her second favorite behind _Brave_ and she promptly demonstrated why to Chaff by imitating the jump kick and leaving a boot print on the living room door in the process.

A mere three weeks after she came to live with him he was an expert in Disney movies – to Chaff's eternal amusement, although his friend stopped laughing when she forced him to watch _Brave_ with her. She had decided Chaff would have to be the bear when they played since he couldn't hold a bow.

He liked the mornings or evenings spent watching TV better than the occasional random watching in the afternoon. In the morning and the evening, she was calm, happy to curl up on the couch with her stuffed toy and stare at the screen, sometimes sucking her thumb if she was really tired.

The first time she crawled on his lap, he startled. He soon grew used to it though. She wasn't really a big cuddler but it wasn't _that_ exceptional for him to wake up from a nap with the four years old snuggled against him. In the afternoon, she tended to be restless, jumping from the couch to the armchair and back, often tripping and falling but never crying out or complaining.

Burning out some of her energy was necessary to his sanity though. He took her out in the woods behind his house every day and he taught her what he knew about wilderness and how to survive if she ever got lost – better safe than sorry, he figured. She ran around, taking in everything he explained and always keeping a look out for an eventual Mockingjay. Try as they might, they never found one. He didn't have the heart to tell her they weren't real, she was entitled to her dreams.

Three weeks after she had moved in, it was very clear in his head that this was _permanent_ and he was alright with it. She wasn't the easiest kid but she was _his_ now and that was enough. She was a little damaged but so was he and he was certain they could make it work.

The good thing was, he was so busy either taking care of her or worrying about her all day that he didn't have much time to lament the lack of liquor. He had given everything to Chaff and had forbidden him from ever letting him drink again.

The shaking had been bad for a few days but it had eventually lessened which told him he had stopped just in time. He still had nightmares, PTSD didn't go away because you adopted a kid, but Katniss helped him focus on other things than his own memories and past and, even though he felt like he was walking on the edge most days, he managed.

Three weeks after she had moved in, it also appeared very clear to him that aside for Chaff, they were living in almost complete isolation –he didn't think trips to the grocery store counted – and that even if he had chosen it as a way of living his life, it couldn't be good for a kid.

"What do you think about going to school?" he asked.

Fall was slowly ending and she had missed almost a whole month but he didn't think preschool could be that difficult. It was more about making friends.

"Do I have to?" she pouted.

"I think so." he winced.

She didn't get more enthusiastic over the next few days, after he made the decision to enroll her in a private school. It was ridiculously posh and expensive and he found the principal equally posh and ridiculous but, according to his researches, it was the school with the most successful rates in the area and he wanted the best for Katniss. Even if she was only four and would only spend her days gluing pastas on paper plates.

The principal was all smiles once she realized Haymitch wasn't as poor as his creased shirt, too long hair and stained pants made him out to look and that he could actually afford not only one year but Katniss' complete education – dangerous secret military operations might have left him with emotional scars that would never heal but they had also left him with enough money to never have to worry about it again, it turned out the government paid well when it was about doing things they didn't want anybody else to know – and she gave them the complete tour of the building. Katniss sulked all the way through but Haymitch signed her in anyway, certain she needed to be around other kids her own age.

He was a little worried that the other children would be stuck-up brats but he was relieved when he took her to school the following day to see most children weren't wearing small versions of suits like he had been afraid of. Most of them looked normal and so did the parents.

Parents weren't allowed in the compound. They had to send the kids off at the gate and wait for them out there so the children would learn to distinguish between _school_ and _home_ – or so the principal had claimed. There was always a teacher at the gate, to greet the children and to make sure they left with whom they were supposed to.

"I don't want to go." Katniss mumbled, clinging to his hand like she almost never did.

Haymitch sighed and crouched in front of her, clasping her hands in his. Truth be told, he didn't want her to go either. He had gotten used to having her around him at all times and the prospect of letting her out of his sight even if it was only for a few hours wasn't one he was facing with impatience.

"It's going to be fun, sweetheart." he said. "You'll make friends."

She scowled and kicked a pebble. "I don't need friends."

"Yeah, well... With that attitude you won't have to worry about that." he joked. "Come on, sweetheart, it's only for a few hours."

"But what if you go away and never come back?" she asked, her little voice breaking.

He cupped her cheek, pushing away the hair that was falling in her face. He still hadn't gotten a hang on hairstyling and the ponytail he had tied up that morning was falling apart.

"Listen, Katniss." he told her, as serious as he could get. "I will be right here when school is over, okay? I'm not going anywhere. It's going to be alright."

"Merida would go." she decided. "Like an adventure."

"Yeah." he nodded. "Exactly. It's like an adventure."

She nodded back and then pull on her hair. "Fix it?"

He stood up, his knees creaking in protest and tried to fix the mess he had made. He only succeeded in taking out the hair tie – without tearing away any strand which he considered a victory – and fumbled with it for a few minutes.

" _Fuck_." he mumbled under his breath.

And then there was a pointed cough.

He looked up into blue eyes – blue _blue_ eyes like a clear summer sky. The woman's features were elegant even if she was wearing too much make-up for his tastes, her blond hair was tied up in a complicated bun and her clothes screamed _expensive_. However, there was a small polite smile on her lips and, for a second, he couldn't look away.

The smile widened into a grin that was halfway between teasing and mocking. "I do apologize but you seem to be in _dire_ need of help."

High-pitched voice, Haymitch noticed. Women with high-pitched voices were always annoying. He was about to tell her to mind her own business but Katniss was quicker than he was.

"Can you braid?" the girl asked. She was guarded like she always was around strangers but she also looked hopeful. She had been begging for braids since day one.

"I most certainly can." the woman replied, flashing them a dazzling smile.

Haymitch surrendered the hair tie and watched as the stranger worked. It a matter of seconds, Katniss was sporting a neat French braid and he was, admittedly, a little impressed.

"Say thank you." he nudged the girl. He wouldn't usually have bothered but the woman's eyes were twinkling and they were so _blue_...

He so rarely reminded her about manners that Katniss looked from him to the stranger and shrugged. "Thank you."

"Finnick gave me this!" a little boy exclaimed, rushing to the woman and grabbing her coat, showing her some sort of trading card with enthusiasm. "He had it twice so he said I could have it!"

The woman gave him an indulging smile. "I hope you remembered to thank him, darling."

The boy nodded with such unrestrained energy Haymitch winced in sympathy. Katniss was already a handful but she could be quiet and calm, the boy, he sensed, was a chatter. Unfortunately, the kid also spotted Katniss who had stepped back against Haymitch's legs.

"You're new!" the boy shouted, loud enough to be heard in a five feet radius. "What's your name? My name's Peeta! Do you like Iron Man? Come on, I will show you around! Bye!"

The _bye_ was for them, Haymitch figured, and he could only watch, helpless, as Katniss was dragged away from him and toward the school's gates, flashing him a look of horror over her shoulder.

"Your son looks... energetic." he snorted.

"Oh, he's my _godson_ not my _son_." the woman answered with a soft smile in the direction the kids had disappeared in, before outstretching a hand. "My name is Effie Trinket. You must be Mr Abernathy? Plutarch told me we had a new late arrival in Peeta's class. Plutarch _Heavensbee_ , that is, he is on the board and a personal friend of mine."

That was a lot of information in one go and he shook her hand only by reflex, not really sure what to reply to that. Fortunately, she didn't seem to require an answer, she went on babbling about the school and the teachers and how _great_ everything was... He didn't even manage to say one word. At some point, her eyes fell on her wrist, she caught sight of the time and gasped that she was late.

He didn't know if he was relieved or sorry to see her go. She was annoyingly chatty but as long as he didn't pay attention and checked her out instead, it was tolerable.

What did he use to do with his days before Katniss came around? Preschool only lasted a few hours but he found himself impatiently waiting for it to be over and he was amongst the first parents waiting near the gate.

It wasn't long before he felt a presence at his side.

"Hello again." she said brightly.

Her coat was open and he caught a glimpse of a neon pink dress with an apple green belt and a matching collar. The whole outfit was so blinding, it didn't even deserve to be called _ridiculous_. And the shoes... How had he not noticed the shoes earlier? The heels were impossibly high, covered with black lace with a pink bow at the ankle. He had been so distracted by her eyes he hadn't noticed anything else.

"Hi, sweetheart." he mumbled, staring at the gates as if it could make them open quicker.

He still noticed her smile faltering into displeasure. "I beg your pardon? What did you just called me?"

He rolled his eyes. "I call everyone sweetheart, don't go thinking you're special or something."

"How appallingly rude!" she huffed.

He opened his mouth – and he doubted anything good would have come out of it – but he was thankfully interrupted by her godson rushing to her, almost colliding with her legs, and _still_ dragging poor Katniss who was struggling to get her hand out of his grip at every given opportunity.

"Can we have Katniss over, Auntie? _Please_?" the kid begged.

"I don't want to go!" Katniss protested, shaking her head vehemently.

"Well, I see rudeness didn't skip a generation..." the woman scoffed.

"Auntie!" Peeta gasped, before tugging on her coat and whispering not discreetly at all. "She's like Annie! You have to be nice! Mrs Sae said so."

"Oh!" she winced, suddenly looking apologetic. " _Oh_ , I didn't know. I am _terribly_ sorry."

"I'm _not_ like Annie!" Katniss shouted, stomping her foot. "I'm _not_!"

Haymitch had absolutely no clue what was going on.

"Sweetie, ladies don't stomp their foot..." she told his niece gently but firmly.

"I'm not a _stupid_ lady!" Katniss spat. "I'm a hunter! And I'm not like Annie. And I want to go _home_." She turned to Haymitch and lifted her arms in the air in a clear order for him to pick her up, something she hardly ever did, so he lifted her and propped her on his hip, completely flabbergasted when she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm not like Annie, I'm _not_!"

"Don't be sad!" Peeta pleaded, reaching out for her foot, which was the only thing he could grab without having to jump. "Please, don't be sad! I didn't mean to make you sad!"

Katniss pressed her face harder against his shoulder. The surge of protectiveness came out from nowhere but prompted him to take a step back so the kid couldn't touch her anymore. The boy looked heartbroken though and Haymitch didn't want to make him feel worse.

"She's just tired." he told Peeta. "She's not angry with you."

"We can have a play-date another time." the kid's godmother was quick to agree. "First day of school can be trying. Come on, darling, you will see Katniss tomorrow..."

It took a lot of convincing to get Peeta to leave her alone. He was absolutely sorry for having upset her and wanted to make amends, be it by giving her his snack or gifting her with his precious trading cards. The boy meant well but Haymitch was still relieved when they managed to escape.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" he asked the girl, once they were well-away from the school. He preferred to walk if he didn't absolutely need the car and it was a bright day so he hadn't bothered with it but if he had known he was going to carry her all the way home, he would have maybe reconsidered. Four years old were starting to get too heavy to be carried long distances.

"I'm not like Annie." she grumbled, consenting to lift her head so that he could hear her.

"Who's Annie?" he asked.

"A girl." Katniss explained unhelpfully.

"Yeah, I sort of _guessed_ that, sweetheart." he mocked. "What's up with her?"

It took a while for Katniss to stop sulking long enough to answer. "She's seen bad things so everyone has to be nice to her 'cause sometimes she's like this for hours." Her face became blank and her eyes stared into nothing for a few seconds. It was a very good impersonation of a goldfish and he hoped for her sake that it was an exaggeration and Annie didn't look like that. He figured if the _bad things_ comment meant she was traumatized in some way, she might be spacing out, which could be scary for little kids. "I didn't see bad things and I don't do that. I'm not like her." Katniss concluded.

"But you've _been_ _through_ some bad things." he pointed out carefully. "Maybe that's what the boy meant."

"I didn't see anything bad." Katniss insisted stubbornly, letting go of his neck to fold her arms over her chest petulantly, leaving to him the task of making sure she wouldn't fall from his arms and crack her head open on the pavement. "I was in the car and then I woke up with the doctors because I banged my head and then I went to the place with all the kids and then I went to live with you."

It was a relief to know she didn't remember the crash.

"Most people would consider all that bad enough already." he shrugged. "And you live with _me_. That's as bad as it gets."

She didn't understand the joke or, if she did, she wasn't in any mood to humor him. She wrapped her little arms around his neck again and squeezed so hard he was scared she was going to strangle him.

"No it's not!" she protested. "I miss my Mommy and my Daddy and my Prim but I love you too."

Now it truly felt as if someone was strangling him but for entirely different reasons.

"Me too, sweetheart." he whispered. "Me too." He would love to say the actual words but he knew they wouldn't come out and he decided a change of topic was in order before she started crying. "How was school? Did you have fun?"

She described everyone in her class, declaring Peeta had offered to be her best friend but she was still thinking about it even if he had given her his peanut butter sandwich during recess – with crusty _real_ bread, he was then told, not white bread like they had at home. Annie was apparently nice enough when she wasn't freaking out. There was another girl named Johanna, who Katniss judged to be absolutely awful but liked playing adventures with, and a boy named Finnick who was Annie's boyfriend, who lived with his grandmother and who had a swimming pool. Of everything, he only really registered the bit about Finnick being Annie's boyfriend and wondered exactly how soon he needed to start worrying about boys trying to turn his kid's head.

"I miss Gale and Madge." Katniss sighed at the end of what was, for her, a long speech.

"Who's that?" he frowned.

"They live next to my house." she explained.

By _her_ house, he figured she meant the old one.

"I could try to get a hold on their parents..." he suggested. "If you want to visit or..."

"No." She shook her head. "They're from before."

He didn't ask _before what_ and he didn't insist either. They were doing everything on her terms as far as he was concerned. His own trauma hardly made him an expert but he wanted to let her have some measure of control over everything, he knew how important that was.

Despite the mishap at the end, she was less reluctant to go to school the next day. Happily bouncing from one fallen leave to the next on their way, lost in one of her games in which she was a great hunter who didn't make a single noise.

Peeta and his godmother were already there and the boy ran to them as soon as he spotted them. He had a weird way of running, Haymitch couldn't help but notice, he jumped every two steps, not quite limping but close.

"I'm so sorry I made you sad yesterday, please still be my friend!" The kid rushed the words out in a single breath. "I brought you a lemon cupcake 'cause you said you liked lemon. There was pink frosting but I ate it in the car because you don't like pink. Auntie Effie said it was rude and I shouldn't have but you _said_ you don't like pink."

Katniss took the offered pastry – that indeed had been visibly nibbled on – and took a huge bite.

"You talk too much." she commented with her mouth still full.

Peeta beamed and they dashed through the gate without even a goodbye for him or for his aunt who had just caught up – which wasn't a surprise since she was wearing another pair of impossibly high heels.

"Did he give her the cupcake? I told him not to!" she exclaimed with obvious frustration. "It is simply _bad_ manners to give a half eaten cupcake to someone."

"I think she liked it anyway." he shrugged. "Look, about yesterday..."

"I am _so_ sorry if I upset her..." she winced. "I truly didn't know and..."

"It's fine, sweetheart." He waved that away. "She just doesn't like being coddled."

She twitched at the moniker. "Effie. My name is _Effie_ , Mr Abernathy. It is not that difficult a name to remember, I dare think."

" _You_ would certainly be hard to forget." he smirked. Her coat was open again and the blue dress she was wearing was less outlandish than the pink one from the day before but it wasn't exactly common either. She didn't seem to realize he was talking about her clothes because she blushed and looked away with a giggle. He didn't know how to correct himself without making everything worse so he awkwardly rubbed his neck and went back to a safe topic. "She doesn't want to be reminded, alright? So just... Tell your kid to treat her like anybody else."

"Oh, I am not sure that it will be possible... He is _quite_ smitten with her, you see..." she chuckled. "She was all he could talk about from the moment I picked him up this morning. His father said he has been rambling about her nonstop since yesterday. Hence the cupcake." Her smile faltered though. "I am afraid I don't quite know what happened to her. All Peeta could tell me was that she was in some sort of accident? I could have called Plutarch but I didn't want to be nosy."

"So you thought you would be nosy by asking _me_ instead?" he snorted.

To her credit, she looked sorry. "I don't mean to pry but if your daughter and my godson are to be close friends like I suspect they will... I would just like to avoid upsetting her again."

"She's not my daughter, she's my niece." he shrugged. "There was a car crash. Her parents and her sister died and she ended up with me."

"Oh, dear!" she gasped. Her eyes filled with tears she quickly blinked away. "I am _so_ sorry for your loss. And for Katniss', of course. I cannot imagine..."

"Yeah." he cut her off, ill-at-ease. "Look, I have to go."

"Yes, of course." she nodded, glancing at her own watch. "I have to leave too if I want to be on time at work. Punctuality is _everything_." He was about to turn away when she reached for his arm and gave it a squeeze. "If you _ever_ need _anything_... Please, feel free to ask."

He decided that this woman was crazy.

An impression that was confirmed when she made a beeline for him later that day while he was waiting for Katniss to come out of school.

"Mr Abernathy!" she beamed.

" _Haymitch_." he corrected – for the first time, he realized. "Don't you have any other friends you can bother?"

She pursed her lips, tilted her head and blinked twice. "You have a _peculiar_ sense of humor."

"Most people say I have none." he deadpanned.

"How utterly _rude_ of them." she retorted either missing the sarcasm completely or not caring enough to call him out on it. "How was your day?"

"Boring." he answered honestly and left it at that.

She waited a few seconds and then gritted her teeth. "Mine was _lovely_ , thank you for asking."

He smirked, amused despite himself. "You're big on the manners thing, aren't you, Princess?"

"I am not sure if _Princess_ is an upgrade from _sweetheart_ or not." she sighed before waving that off. "Manners are the _core_ of a polite society."

" _Auntie_!" Peeta exclaimed. He was closely followed by Katniss and a shy looking little girl with brown hair who was holding fast to the sleeve of a blond boy with sea green eyes and a wolfish grin.

"Hello, my darlings." Effie greeted them all with a kiss on the cheek. Katniss made a point of rubbing her skin after Effie had kissed her too and Haymitch didn't even bother to hide his smirk. "Have you met Finnick and Annie, Haymitch?" she added for his benefits before turning back to the children. "Are you all ready?"

It was obvious the girl and the other boy were leaving with her and Peeta, otherwise the teacher at the gate wouldn't have let them go.

"Are you starting a collection or something?" he teased. "You add a kid every day?"

"See? Your sense of humor _is_ peculiar." she retorted. "I usually bring Finnick home when his grandmother cannot do it."

"Mags is very old." Finnick piped in helpfully. "She has a stick and everything. I take care of her."

"Exactly." Effie commented, patting his head. As soon as she had taken her hand away, the boy made sure his hair was still in its proper place. Katniss rolled her eyes and give Haymitch a pointed look he pretended not to see in order to keep his composure. Effie was oblivious to it all and continued. "And Annie is having a sleepover at Finnick's today. And if we are all very lucky, Mags will have made her legendary chocolate cake." That gave the children something to be excited about. Except Katniss. Realizing her blunder, Effie was quick to correct herself. "I would be happy to take Katniss with us... I could drive her back afterwards... Or she could have a sleepover, if it's agreeable. Peeta is staying with me tonight."

Katniss looked panic struck and tugged on his hand. "Uncle Chaff is coming. I want to see Uncle Chaff."

He lifted his eyebrows at the _Uncle_ part – because she had certainly _never_ called him that before. "You're sure?"

She nodded. "I want to go home. I want to watch _Brave_."

"I like _Brave_." Annie said, out of the blue.

Katniss hesitated and then shrugged. "You can come watch with me sometimes."

Annie looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

"Sure." he agreed.

He really needed to get a hang on how to say no to four years old.

"Can I come too?" Peeta asked eagerly.

"Peeta, that's rude." Effie chided him. "You don't _ask_ to be invited somewhere."

"Peeta can come." Katniss countered, magnanimous. "And you too, Finnick."

"And Jo?" Finnick asked.

"I guess." the girl sighed.

"Tomorrow after school?" Peeta was practically bouncing with excitement.

"There is no school tomorrow." Effie reminded him gently, brushing a hand through his hair. "Today is Friday."

"On Monday." Katniss declared and the kids started chatting about their plans, leaving Haymitch to not so discreetly panic in his own corner.

"Will you be alright with that many children?" Effie asked. "I could stay and help."

He was going to say no. He really was. Because he didn't _need_ anyone and certainly not a woman who walked around perched on six inches heels. But _five_ kids to jungle with _all on his own_?

"Yeah." he agreed. She lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow and he rolled his eyes, understanding what she was waiting for. " _Please_."

"Why, I would be delighted!" she grinned.

And Haymitch felt as if he had just sold his soul to the devil.

It seemed it _did_ wear Prada after all.

* * *

 _Effie and Peeta are heeeere! Did you like it? Do you like the toddler victors? Let me know what you think!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**3.**_

"Here comes the housewife." Chaff mocked as Haymitch entered the kitchen with an empty basket to collect the clean laundry. He glared at his friend who had been busy passing Katniss the color pencils she requested. The kid was sitting on her knees on a chair and was drawing something he couldn't quite make out – might have been a house, might have been a rocket, she wasn't exactly an artist.

"Shut up." he grumbled on his way to the basement.

"Mrs Sae says we can't say that." Katniss commented. "Jo got in trouble yesterday."

Haymitch rolled his eyes and continued on his way, leaving the door open so he could still follow the conversation. Who knew having a kid was such hard work? Not only did he have to feed her, he needed to make sure she had clean clothes – something she went through at an alarming rate – he also needed to keep the house at least partially clean... Tidy was something they would never achieve. The living-room was in total disarray and so was the rest of the house but he couldn't leave a kid to live in a pigsty and so he had to pick up after her, do the dishes, use the vacuum cleaner, mop the floor... How did people do that and have real jobs at the same time? He was a lazy person. It was _hell_.

"Mrs Sae's your teacher, right?" Chaff asked as Haymitch struggled with the light that never quite wanted to switch on in the cellar. It always took three tries to work. "Is she pretty?"

"No." Katniss answered frankly. "She's _ancient_ like a dinosaur. Jo calls her _Greasy_ _Sae_."

"That's not very nice." his friend pointed out.

"Jo's not very nice." the girl replied.

"And is she coming to this party of yours?" Chaff snorted before raising his voice. "You're _really_ going to take care of five kids on your own, Haymitch? 'Cause that's a recipe for disaster if you ask me!"

"I _didn't_ ask you!" he shouted back, opening the dryer.

"Peeta's Auntie will be here." Katniss offered and Haymitch wished she hadn't.

"Peeta's Auntie?" Chaff repeated with some interest. "Is she a dinosaur too?"

"She's pretty." the girl declared. "And she can braid hair."

Chaff's laughter boomed out. "Is she married?"

He was about to tell his friend to _shut_ _up_ again – Mrs Sae's opinion on those words be damned – when he caught sight of the clothes he had been mechanically dropping in the plastic basket. " _Fucking_ _Christ_!"

There was a second of silence in the kitchen and then Katniss' voice. "What does _fucking_ mean, Uncle Chaff? Haymitch says it _a lot_."

Chaff wisely ignored that. "Everything's okay down there?"

Haymitch came back up to the kitchen with his basket of clothes and dropped it dejectedly on the table. Chaff started laughing so hard he grabbed his sides but Katniss simply looked _horrified_.

"It's pink!" she shrieked, snatching one of her shirts. "I _hate_ pink!"

"Yeah, well, I hate pink too." he grumbled, grabbing one of his own long sleeve cotton shirts with some distaste. "And it shrunk."

"That means you're going shopping." Chaff taunted. "What could be more fun on a Saturday afternoon?"

Haymitch was very tempted to shove his too small pink undershirt in his friend's mouth. Chaff was having entirely too much fun with the whole Katniss situation, showing up every two days and playing with her to the point she would be too excited to go to bed at a reasonable hour – not that Haymitch was truly keeping to a regular schedule anyway – and mocking him to no end.

It turned out Katniss was just as eager to go clothes shopping as he was but there was simply nothing for it. Most of their clothes had been in that washing machine – because he couldn't bother to do the laundry regularly. She dragged her feet all the way there, pushing her hair out of her eyes every two steps and glaring at him when he failed for the third time to fix the ponytail that kept getting loose.

There was a shop in town with different sections for kids, men and women and even though he had never been before, he ended up in front of it, not feeling up to drive half an hour to the next big town with a mall – the Seam's mall had been in construction for years and nobody was counting on it anymore. _Capitol Couture_ , the huge neon sign over the door was disclaiming, blinking pink and gold in turn. Katniss made a face when she saw it and he couldn't help making one either.

He pushed the door and was immediately assaulted by the sound of too loud pop music inviting him to _shake it out_. Katniss looked up at him with an unimpressed gaze, as if to say "I told you it was a bad idea".

The store was huge by Seam's standards. There was a set of spiral metal stairs that led to the kids section if the signs could be believed. The ground floor was neatly divided between men and women wear. There were racks everywhere with a lot of colors. Two of the walls were painted a rich blue, the other two were a light green, the floor was yellow... It was a bit overwhelming to look at.

"Welcome, welcome!" a shrill voice greeted them and it was _just_ his luck because the woman who appeared from behind a rack of clothes was no other than Effie Trinket. She fitted right in with the decor: electric blue dress, matching heels and a lot of gold jewelry. Her commercial smile immediately broke into a real one when she spotted them. "Oh, what a delightful surprise!"

Katniss' face brightened when she saw the woman – which Haymitch found odd until the kid rushed to her, getting her hair tie free and handing it to her with a desperate expression. "Can you braid? _Please_."

When Katniss used a _please_ , you knew she was at the end of her rope.

Effie seemed slightly taken aback by the request but recovered soon enough and signaled her to turn around with open amusement. Katniss actually breathed out a sigh of relief when her hair was firmly secured away from her eyes.

"So, did you come all the way here for a braid, sweetie?" Effie asked Katniss, her blue eyes darting from the kid to Haymitch. "I could teach your uncle, you know."

"We had a laundry accident." Haymitch said before Katniss could take her up on that offer.

"Everything turned pink." the girl added not so helpfully. "I _hate_ pink."

"I see." she grinned. " Well, you have come to the right place. What exactly do you need?"

"To go home." Katniss mumbled.

Haymitch nudged her.

Effie bit her bottom lip.

"Hey, Effie, did you..." a man called, walking through a door that Haymitch supposed led to the back of the store. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know we had customers."

Apparently, Effie wasn't the only one with an out of the box fashion sense. The guy looked like a rocker, complete with golden eyeliner and diamond earring.

Effie waved the man's apology off. "It's no matter, they are friends. Haymitch, Katniss, I would like you to meet my associate Cinna. And, Cinna, this is the little girl Peeta told you about yesterday and her uncle Haymitch Abernathy."

Haymitch shook the man's hand. "Ah, the _infamous_ Haymitch. I heard quite a lot about you."

Haymitch frowned, confused.

"You absolutely did _not_." Effie hissed. "Where is Portia? Shouldn't she be back?"

"She will be sorry she missed this, I can tell you." Cinna grinned, looking Haymitch up and down in a way that made him uncomfortable. "I must say I approve."

"Alright." she cut her friend off, clapping her hands once to get everyone's attention. "How can we help you today?"

Deciding it was best to ignore the awkward and weird way Cinna was wriggling his eyebrows at Effie, Haymitch cleared his throat. "Clothes for Katniss and some shirts for me."

"No pink, no dress, no skirts." Katniss specified. "Except if it's like Merida's."

"I think we can do that." Cinna agreed seriously, outstretching his hand. "How about we go see what we can find upstairs and leave Effie to take care of your uncle?"

He didn't immediately protest because Katniss was usually vocal in her distaste of strangers but she took him aback by slipping her hand in Cinna's and shrugging. "Okay."

He watched his niece hop up the stairs next to the stranger with a mix of dread and worry.

"She is safe." Effie said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "I would trust Cinna with my life."

He licked his lips nervously and forced himself to tear his eyes away from the stairs. "I guess I'm a bit..." He let his voice trail off, not sure how to even explain the abysmal amount of anxiety he felt for his loved ones' safety.

"Overprotective?" she finished for him. "I noticed. It is not a bad thing when children are concerned."

She guided him to the men's part of the store. He was a little afraid when he realized just how many eccentric shirts were there but he let her select some pieces on their way all the same, figuring he could simply tell her no at the last moment.

"Where's your godson?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"At home." she hummed. "I dropped him off this morning. His brother is visiting, his wife is expecting. Peeta is very excited about becoming an uncle."

Haymitch lifted his eyebrows. "Must be some age gap between them."

She nodded but her face remained blank and evasive. "His oldest brother is twenty-six. Then we have Rye who is twenty and Sal who just turned eighteen and left home last summer."

"Peeta wasn't exactly planned, was he?" he snorted before he could help himself.

"Well, I will leave you to try those on." she declared, shoving the heap of clothes she had collected at him and pointing him in the direction of the dressing rooms. He clutched the shirts against his chest with one arm and reached out to touch her wrist before she could storm away.

"Sorry, sweetheart." he offered honestly.

She gradually relaxed. "It's alright, I was nosy first I supposed. No, he wasn't exactly planned."

That was all she was willing to say on the subject and that was just as well. He was surprised to find the things she had selected actually suited his tastes. Nothing outlandish, it could even had been called _plain_ if it weren't for the obvious quality of the fabrics. She had chosen everything in a range of white, blue, grey and the occasional green, which was what he usually chose for himself. He rejected some but kept the main part of it.

She was leaning against the wall, a smug smile on her lips when he stepped out. "Are you impressed yet?"

He smirked, unable to stop himself. "Are you _trying_ to impress me, Princess?"

"Perhaps." she admitted.

He opened his mouth, eager to keep the banter going, but he was stopped by the stomping of little feet on the metal stairs and an enthusiastic four years old running to him in a red dress. _A dress_. In which she didn't seem to have been forced.

"Look, look, look!" she called out to them before turning on herself. The dress puffed and twirled around her leg and the fabric caught the light in a shimmering way. "It looks like flames!"

"It does." Effie laughed in agreement. "And it suits you very well."

"It's _a dress_." Haymitch pointed out. "Are you sure you want a dress?"

She stopped twirling on herself long enough to scowl at him. "It looks like _flames_." she repeated before twirling again, craning her neck to watch herself in the mirror.

"She selected quite a few things." Cinna declared, coming back downstairs with his arms full. "If you'd like to check or..."

"It's fine." he decided. She was so difficult on a day to day basis, he figured whatever she had chosen must have been alright. And he couldn't see her making shopping outings a regular thing so getting a lot of clothes in one go was probably for the best.

"I will ring everything." Cinna offered, relieving him of his own purchases.

"Can we call Uncle Chaff? I want him to come look at my dress." Katniss asked.

"Chaff was already here earlier, sweetheart." He rolled his eyes. "You have to stop calling him or he will move in for good."

Katniss sulked, her joy for her fire dress rapidly giving to her annoyance at being told no.

"Is Chaff your brother?" Effie asked tentatively.

"Uncle Chaff is Uncle Haymitch's special friend." Katniss explained before he could say anything and he was left to watch, helpless, as a look of understanding and mortification washed over Effie's face.

"Oh... _Oh_ , I see." she stuttered, sounding a little disappointed.

" _Best_ friend. She means _best_ friend." Haymitch corrected quickly. "He's not a _special_ friend. I don't _have_ a _special_ friend. Wouldn't have a _male_ special friend either 'cause... You know. You're my kind of _special_ friend. I mean not you _you_ but... _Women_. Not that you wouldn't be my kind of _special_ friend 'cause you're..." He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm gonna stop talking now."

Katniss and Effie were both watching him as if he was a complete idiot – which he might be given what had just sprouted out of his mouth – his saving grace was that there was some fondness in Effie's eyes.

"He's your special friend 'cause you were soldiers together." Katniss countered slowly, as if he was _really_ brain damaged and he could almost hear the _doh_ at the end. "He says so all the time."

"Oh, you were in the army?" Effie asked. "How wonderful."

"Not so much." he snapped, before looking down. "Not many fond memories there, sweetheart. Time to go, Katniss."

The girl didn't seem disturbed by his sudden sharp tone, she sauntered to the counter where Cinna was ringing everything. Effie grabbed his arm before he could join her.

"We seem to have a gift for offending each other." she observed.

He shook his head. "I'm not offended I just don't like thinking about it. Nothing to do with you."

A bunch of customers came in and her eyes immediately darted to them.

"I have to..." she started apologizing but he waved it off.

"Go." he shrugged.

"I will see you on Monday." she declared before rushing to her new clients.

He paid Cinna who was nice enough to give him a discount but, even so, he felt as if his credit card had just exploded when he put it back in his wallet and he struggled with the numerous bags. Katniss was still twirling in her dress, fascinated with the shimmering red fabric.

"Here." Cinna said, scribbling something at the back of the recipe ticket before dropping it in one of the bags. "Call her and don't break her heart."

"What?" he frowned.

"Effie's number." the man clarified.

He didn't know what to make of that so he nodded and left with Katniss on his trail.

"See you, Girl On Fire!" Cinna waved goodbye at her.

He pushed all memory of her number at the back of his head. The _Effie_ _situation_ was something he didn't want to linger on. He was attracted to her, that was obvious – and why wouldn't he? she was _gorgeous_ – but he simply didn't date. For the last two decades, he only had a string of one night stands and no serious relationships at all. And now he had Katniss to think about. And even if the kid was alright with him dating her new best friend's aunt he wouldn't know how to go about it. He didn't do romance. He didn't do dates.

Had she asked Cinna to slip him her number or was it an initiative the man had taken? Would Cinna have told her he had given Haymitch her number? Was she expecting him to _call_?

What _in hell_ was he supposed to do?

* * *

 _What do you think? Is he going to call? Stay tune for the answer to that riveting question and the long awaited playdate! Let me know your thoughts!_


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

Haymitch was so convinced Effie's first words on Monday morning would be _"why didn't you call?"_ that it was almost anticlimactic when he found her chatting with another man. Peeta was nowhere to be seen and he would have told Katniss to go directly inside the school but, as was quickly becoming the norm, the kid had plans of her own and ran to Effie, interrupting her discussion by handing out her hair tie and immediately turning around so her hair could be braided.

Effie looked up, spotted him and waved him over with a smile before quickly doing Katniss' hair in a fancy braid.

"Sorry about that." he mumbled, tapping his niece on the shoulder. "Effie was busy. You can't just ask her to do your hair anytime you fancy it."

"Effie doesn't mind. She said so." Katniss replied petulantly.

"I don't mind." Effie confirmed easily. "Haymitch, I wanted to introduce you to Blight. He is Johanna's father."

He felt less defensive all of a sudden. The man was in his forties, looked exhausted and clearly wasn't sweet talking her if he had a kid inside so he shook the offered hand with some relief.

"Happy not to be the only single dad anymore." Blight greeted him with genuine good humor.

Unfortunately, it made Haymitch grim again. Perhaps he _was_ sweet talking Effie after all.

"Finnick! Annie!" Katniss waved and then she dashed away to her friends.

Haymitch was dragged along by Effie who introduced him to Finnick's grandmother. Mags looked like a sweet old woman – the sort of old woman who could murder you with their walking stick. He had almost forgotten about the _Brave_ watching thing but those people, who were more responsible than he was, understandably wanted to make arrangements. Blight offered to drop Finnick and Annie back at Mags' afterwards since, from what he gathered, Annie's sleepover at Finnick's was a _temporary_ that was verging on _permanent_ arrangement. There wasn't any time left to talk to Effie when they were done with the organizational side of things.

He spent most of the day trying to make the house look cleaner in fear nobody would be allowed to play with Katniss again if they thought Haymitch wasn't good enough of a parent.

With that many kids, he didn't dare walk so he came to pick Katniss up with the car. Effie had a similar idea which was good because they could split the kids up in two groups instead of cramming everyone in a single car.

Peeta insisted on going with Katniss so he ended up with the boy, his niece and the infamous Johanna while Effie took Annie and Finnick. He only realized it was the first time he was using the car with Katniss when she stiffened at the sight of it. She was frozen in place on the pavement and he cursed himself for not thinking about that. Before he could say anything though, Johanna stuck her head out of the car and sneered. "What are you waiting for, brainless?"

He lifted his eyebrows, about to scold the kid for the way she was talking to _his_ niece but Katniss had it covered. She sneered right back. " _You_ 're brainless! At least I'm not scared of a puddle of water!"

"I'm not scared!" Johanna shouted back, scrambling back so Katniss had enough room to sit on the backseat. "It was just a movie!"

They bickered all the time it took him to check everyone had buckled up and they also bickered all the way home with Peeta playing referee. It turned out Johanna had watched a movie she wasn't supposed to watch, a horror film of some sort, and was now terrified puddles of water would jump on her and she would drown. Katniss looked tense and not only because of her argument with Jo, she was grasping the edge of the seat with a death grip, but she remained collected even if her legs were a little shaky when she stepped out.

Effie pulled behind him a few minutes later. The kids looked around curiously. He was so used to living there that he had stopped noticing the abandoned residential area. His house was the only one in a row of empty ones but it just meant people left him alone and that suited him just fine.

"What _is_ that terrible noise?" Effie asked, helping Annie out of the car.

"Haymitch has geese!" Peeta exclaimed.

Clearly that was news to exactly no one except the boy's aunt because the first thing Katniss did was to lead everyone to the backyard to show them the pen. Saying that the birds were agitated was a nice euphemism.

"Curious choice of pets." Effie commented, keeping her distance. "Johanna, don't put your hand in the pen! They might bite you! I'd rather do without a trip to the E.R."

"I raise them." he shrugged. "Sell the eggs, some of the birds sometimes. Kept the boredom at bay before Katniss came around."

"Is that a profitable business?" she asked curiously, clapping her hands to get the children's attention. "Come on everyone, let's step away from the monsters with sharp teeth."

"I don't really need the money." he offered, opening the back door and gesturing at the kids to go ahead. "It's more of a hobby."

Katniss made a beeline for the fridge and grabbed the milk. He snatched the bottle from her hand before she could drop it – something that had happened far too many times to count. It was chaos for a while and he was grateful for Effie's help because if he had been left to supervise the distribution of snacks by himself, he would have gone mad. Finnick wanted sugar cubes – which he was denied – Annie was actually the nicest and was happy to take whatever he had to give while always saying _please_ and _thank you,_ Katniss wanted an apple but the red kind and not the green, Peeta copied Katniss in everything and Johanna wanted a candy bar.

He reconsidered the cleverness of that later – because Johanna was clearly not a kid you gave _sugar_ to.

It seemed to take forever before he and Effie managed to get everyone in front of the Disney movie.

"If I have to watch this one more time, I will claw my eyes out." he confessed to Effie.

"I can sympathize, Peeta is obsessed with _Frozen_." she winced. "You haven't suffered until you sat through a thousand repeats of _Let it go_." They hadn't watched that one yet and he quickly decided they never would. Effie watched the kids who were all staring at the screen almost religiously and gave a tiny shrug. "I think we can relocate to the kitchen."

"Coffee?" he offered with some relief at not being forced to see Merida gain her independence for what must have been the billionth time.

His coffee was awful but she was nice enough not to say it. She was also nice enough to keep up most of the conversation by chatting without pause. He wondered if that was something she did when she was nervous or if she was just naturally that loud. Her voice was high-pitched enough to give him a headache but he didn't mind so much because, when she talked, her eyes sparkled and he was strangely fascinated with the sight.

Peace lasted about fifteen minutes. Johanna declared herself bored with the movie and wanted to play. Finnick followed her and when Finnick followed so did Annie. If Katniss was upset at not being able to watch her favorite movie in peace she didn't let on. She was too busy screaming at Jo that she would catch her with her arrows.

In a matter of seconds his living-room was turned into an _Avengers_ reenactment battle. Katniss was Hawkeye, Peeta Iron Man, Finnick kept screaming he was Captain America... Johanna declared herself Black Widow and Annie shyly stepped away from the game after some time, paddling to the kitchen, climbing on Effie's lap and looking happy enough to cuddle. That meant Haymitch was responsible for checking on the kids and that was something he never wanted to be again. They were having the time of their life it seemed, climbing furniture, screaming and bursting out with laughter... He would have stopped them if it hadn't been for the obvious happiness on Katniss' face. If she was enjoying herself he didn't mind the baubles Johanna kept on knocking off.

"That kid is a public danger." he grumbled as he came back to the kitchen.

Effie flashed him a smile, running her fingers through Annie's long hair. The little girl had fallen asleep curled up against her. "Jo is tough to love."

"I feel sorry for her dad." he snorted, dropping back on his chair. His nerves were frail enough that he wished he could have a drink. "I thought Katniss was a handful but this one's something else."

"She isn't a bad child." Effie chided him. "She is... difficult. Her mother left a little after she was born. Blight is all she has now and it's been complicated. She needs a woman's influence."

He drummed his fingers on the table, contemplating what he wanted to ask and what it would implied about his own intentions but in the end he couldn't help himself. "Like _yours_? 'Cause I noticed the guy likes you."

"Don't be preposterous." she scoffed.

"Sweetheart, he was so far down your cleavage it's a miracle he didn't get lost." he scowled.

She pursed her lips. "First, you do _not_ mention a lady's cleavage and certainly _not_ where children could hear you. Second, this is ridiculous."

He rolled his eyes. "Why? He's single and you're..."

He cut himself off just in time and she lifted a pointed eyebrow.

"I am?" she prompted.

His grey eyes darted to her lips, fascinated with the grin tugging at the right corner of her mouth.

"Annoying." he said flatly. " _Very_ annoying. Some guys are into that."

"Are you?" she challenged.

The doorbell prevented him from answering, which was a good thing. The less good thing was Blight standing on his doorstep. Maybe, he mused as he watched the man greet Effie, he had exaggerated. Blight was checking her out but no more than any man would look at an attractive woman. Still, he couldn't say he was sorry when the guy left with two of the most unruly kids and the sleepy little girl. That left him with only Peeta and Katniss to work with and that seemed more manageable.

"Peeta and Effie are eating with us." Katniss informed him as soon as he had closed the door on Blight and the rest of his nieces' friends.

He lifted his eyebrows at that piece of news and glanced up at Effie who had been fumbling with her purse and who froze, clearly not having expected that.

"It's fine with me if you don't mind stew leftovers." he shrugged.

Peeta let out an excited yelp and immediately grabbed his aunt's hand with pleading eyes. "Please, Auntie!"

Effie was clearly torn. "I'm sorry, darling, this is a very nice invitation but I promised your parents I would bring you back for dinner."

"Mom won't care!" Peeta exclaimed.

It was interesting that he was calling his mother "mom" instead of "mommy" when Effie was " _auntie_ ". Haymitch had yet to see his mysterious elusive parents and it would have been a lie to say he wasn't curious about Peeta's situation, the boy spent an enormous amount of time with his godmother.

"I..." she hesitated, looking from the kid to him. "Are you sure it is not a bother? I would hate to impose."

"Like I said." he shrugged again. "It's only leftovers but there's enough for all of us."

"Let me call your father and see what he says alright?" she relented at last. "But, Peeta, if he wants you home..."

"He won't care 'cause Mom won't care." the boy declared. "I can have a sleepover with you after."

If possible, the kid looked even more happy at that prospect but Effie shot it down very quickly even though she looked sorry about it.

"Darling, you slept over on Friday..." she winced. "You know your mother is sad when you sleep over too often."

"But she doesn't care!" Peeta objected with agitation. "She doesn't like you but _I_ don't care."

"Oh, you _cannot_ say things like that, Peeta!" Effie laughed awkwardly. "Of course, your mother likes me. Now, run along with Katniss."

Katniss was frowning at the conversation taking place but it seemed she had only been waiting for the permission to run away because she grabbed Peeta's hand and dragged him upstairs to her room. Haymitch almost wanted to shout that she wasn't allowed to have boys in her room but it seemed a little extreme at that age.

"Are you alright?" he asked because she looked rattled.

She immediately forced a bright smile on her lips that would have fooled almost anybody. She had a tendency to pretend to be cheerful for other people's sake when she was absolutely not, he had already noticed.

"Oh, perfectly." she lied. "I apologize for this little scene. The situation is... a tad complicated."

"'Cause his mom doesn't like you." He was fishing for information but he was curious. How did that work out if Peeta's mother didn't like his godmother? Effie seemed to be taking care of him on a semi-permanent basis...

"Yes, well, I assure you the feeling is mutual." she scowled. "If you would excuse me for a moment, I will call his father."

She fished her phone out of her purse and stepped outside. He had barely walked back in the living-room to assert the damages – and there _were_ damages, it looked like a hurricane had blown over the room – when Katniss screamed. It wasn't a game induced scream, it was _terrified_ , and Haymitch was upstairs in a flash. Katniss was kneeling on the bed, staring at Peeta with wide eyes, while the boy told her it was okay over and over again.

It _really_ didn't look okay.

Peeta was sitting on the floor where he had clearly fallen – probably after jumping on the bed like Haymitch had expressly forbidden Katniss to do – and his leg was bent at an odd angle. Haymitch's first thought was that Effie was going to kill him. His second was that the boy must have been in an awful lot of pain.

" _Fuck_." he hissed, crouching next to the boy, not even daring to touch. "Just breathe, okay, kid? We'll get you a doctor."

Given the angle, the leg was clearly broken and badly but Peeta didn't seem to be in pain at all.

"It's okay." Peeta repeated slowly, his blue eyes darting from Haymitch to Katniss. "It came loose that's why I fell." He tugged on his foot and Haymitch watched with morbid fascination as the leg _actually_ came loose. The kid waved the heavy prosthetic with both hands. "See? Robot leg. Just like Iron Man."

Haymitch should have seen it coming. The way the boy hopped when he ran? The slight limp sometimes... He had seen enough wounded soldiers to know what to look for but he had never stopped to think it could happen to a four years old.

Katniss seemed to be wavering between passing out in horror at the sight of the empty trousers leg below the knee or screaming again. In the end, she blinked and carefully climbed off the bed.

"Just like Iron Man." Peeta repeated, almost coaxing. He looked calm, _detached_ , but there was some nervousness underneath, the need to be accepted for who he was. If the girl ran away now, Haymitch mused, it would destroy their bulging friendship.

"Just like Iron Man." Katniss echoed, reaching out to brush her fingers against the plastic limb.

"It's just like Uncle Chaff's boo boo, sweetheart." Haymitch intervened.

Katniss wasn't fazed by many things and, when she was, it never lasted long. "Uncle Chaff doesn't have a robot hand."

"Your Uncle Chaff doesn't have a hand?" Peeta asked, his eyes lighting up with interest.

 _Speak of the devil..._

"Haymitch?" Effie piped in. "Your friend was at the door. I let him in, I hope... Oh dear!"

Katniss' room was crowded. Haymitch stepped aside to let Effie take his place next to the boy. She pieced out together what had happened with more calm than he would have credited her for in that sort of situations, scolding the boy for jumping on the bed when he knew he shouldn't. Chaff leaned against the doorframe, taking advantage of the fact Effie's back was turned to lift his eyebrows with a knowing smirk Haymitch was only too happy to ignore.

"Come on, Katniss, let's give Peeta some privacy, yeah?" he suggested, picking the kid up before she could protest. It was obvious the boy would need to take his pants off to reattach the leg and he doubted he wanted an audience for that. Effie nodded at him gratefully. Peeta's eyes, Haymitch noticed, were riveted on Chaff's stump.

"I wanted to check if the house was still standing." Chaff explained as soon as he had closed the door behind them. "Didn't mean to crash on your date."

"It's not a date." he grumbled. "Did you miss the two kids?"

"Is she the kid's aunt, then?" his friend grinned, completely ignoring him. "She's _hot_ , buddy. Please, tell me you're not going to be your usual moron and you're going to tap that ass."

Katniss wrinkled her nose. "You're hot when you're sick. Effie's not sick."

"How about you start tidying up the living-room, sweetheart?" he suggested, placing her down as soon as they were downstairs.

"You help." she requested.

"I wasn't the one making the mess." he pointed out.

"But you didn't make Finnick, Annie and Jo clean." she argued.

"Annie didn't do much of anything." he retorted. "Come on, go start. I just need a word with Uncle Chaff."

She dragged her feet all the way to the living-room but he waited until he was sure she was gone to glare at his friend. " _Not_ in front of the kid."

Chaff rolled his eyes. "Well, the kid's gone now. So? You're going for it or what? I can babysit. It's been ages since you got laid."

He averted his eyes, annoyed. "Don't say it like that. She's better than just a one night stand, okay?"

"Oh..." Chaff chuckled, clearly finding the whole thing hilarious. "Someone has a _crush_..."

" _Shut_ _up_." he growled.

Thank god for four years old who never were discreet because they heard Peeta stomping down the stairs early enough that Effie didn't walk in on their discussion. The boy was limping slightly but not enough that he wasn't quicker than his aunt on her heels. Peeta looked displeased but he cheered up when he spotted Chaff. He grabbed the stump before Haymitch or Effie, who was barely catching up, could stop him and ran his little palm on the rugged skin. The stump wasn't a pretty sight, emergency stitching after a battle wasn't about aesthetic, Haymitch had the scars to prove it.

"You're like me." Peeta declared with some awe.

"I am sorry." Effie offered with an apologetic smile. "We do not know many people with..." She let her sentence trail off, probably unsure of how to finish that without hurting anyone's feelings.

"It's fine." Chaff waved it off indulgently with his good hand and ruffled the boy's hair. "Yeah, just like you, except I don't have a fancy prosthetic."

"Auntie Effie got it for me." Peeta proudly informed him.

Haymitch lifted his eyebrows in her direction in inquisition but, aside for a brief forced smile, she didn't answer.

"I am afraid we cannot stay for dinner." she said. "I appreciate the invitation and I am very sorry."

"Everything's okay?" he frowned. "He's not hurt, right?"

She shook her head immediately. "It is a little swollen but that is not unusual. His parents want him home for dinner."

"Stupid mom." Peeta grumbled with a scowl that could have rivaled Katniss'.

"Peeta." Effie chided him, terse enough that he bowed his head. He didn't exactly look sorry though. "Go say goodbye to Katniss."

Katniss must have heard the voices because she came running and, upon being told her guests were leaving, she frowned and grabbed Effie's hand in a move that was quickly becoming a habit. "You're sick?"

"Me?" Effie asked, taken aback. "Absolutely not. Where did you get that idea?"

"Katniss..." he warned, having a good idea of what would happen. It flew right over her head.

"Uncle Chaff said you are hot. Hot people are sick." the girl stated flatly but with some sincere worry.

Happy to be left out of this one, Haymitch watched with some amusement as Chaff winced in embarrassment.

Effie's lips twitched in amusement but her face remained blank. "I think Uncle Chaff should know better than talking about certain things in front of children."

"Can't blame a guy for noticing, love." Chaff winked.

"What is it with all of you and pet names?" she sighed, before checking her watch. "Peeta, darling, we _really_ need to get going."

The goodbyes with Katniss were almost tearful. They hugged like there would be no tomorrow.

"Are they drama queens or what?" Haymitch snorted.

"They're cute." Chaff decided before nudging Effie's arm with his stump. "Haymitch could use a good long hug too, you know, love... Just saying."

He expected her to start yelling in outrage but she didn't bat an eyelash. "Haymitch should use my phone number then, shouldn't he?"

Chaff burst out laughing and clapped Haymitch on the shoulder. "Oh, I like her. She's _feisty_."

The thing was...

Haymitch liked her too.

And wasn't that a problem in itself…

* * *

 _Sooooo what do you think? The house is still in one piece! The play date wasn't a TOTAL disaster... AAAAND Chaff is a hayffie shipper! Who would have thought?! Now the big question is... Will Haymitch call Effie ? Cause we all know dating isn't really his scene..._


	5. Chapter 5

_**5.**_

Haymitch picked up the phone only to drop it at the last second more times than he could count that week.

Every morning he saw her in front of the school and she acted perfectly normal – well, normal for _her_ , he still thought she was a little crazy. Sometimes they argued for the sake of arguing, keeping the banter light in front of the kids, sometimes they flirted so shamefully he couldn't have missed the point even if he had wanted to... And he _didn't_ want to. He wanted to call her. He wanted to spend time with her. He just... Wasn't sure how to do that.

He only grew the courage to actually dial her number on the Friday afternoon following the _Brave_ party and he still didn't know what he was going to say. He was still thinking about it when she picked up. There was pop music in the background and a woman laughing nearby, he figured she was at work.

"I... forgot you were working." he stammered without even a proper hello.

" _Yes, well... Everyone cannot secretly be rich."_ she teased. _"Although I will have you know I am quite wealthy myself. I used to be a model, you know."_

He could believe that without a doubt.

"You're _posh_ , sweetheart, that's the difference." he snorted.

" _I know you intend it as_ snobbish _but I will choose to understand it as_ classy _."_ she declared. _"Did you need something, Haymitch?_ "

" _Oh, is that him?"_ asked a voice he strongly suspected belonged to Cinna in the background. " _Took his sweet time, didn't he?"_

" _Told you he would call!"_ another woman shouted.

Was she talking about him with her friends? _Of course_ she was talking about him with her friends. That was what women like her did, wasn't it? And it wasn't like he hadn't talked about her at length with Chaff anyway – well, Chaff had talked and he had grumbled.

What was she expecting from him though? Suddenly, it was too much pressure and he chickened out. His eyes fell on the furniture catalogue abandoned on the kitchen counter that he had been browsing earlier because Katniss still didn't have a proper child friendly room. "You're free tomorrow? I'm going to take Katniss to the home furnishing store so she can have a real room... You want to come with? Bring the boy."

There was a pause at the other end of the line during which he could only hear awful pop music.

" _I don't have Peeta with me tomorrow."_ she said.

"Oh." he winced. There were alarm bells ringing in his head. He was making a mess of this, he knew. "Do you want to come anyway? I... We could grab dinner after. With Katniss. She'd like it. 'Cause… You know… She likes eating. And she likes you."

" _Do you?"_ she prompted.

"Do I what?" he frowned.

" _Like me."_ she clarified. _"I am trying to figure out if you are really clueless or if you are just not interested."_

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Honestly? I don't know what I'm doing, sweetheart. I'm winging it."

" _And doing an awful job of it."_ she sighed.

"Look, Effie..." he winced, absolutely ill-at-ease. "I like you. But I'm not good at this. And there's Katniss and... It's been a lot of changes lately."

" _Yes, of course_." she was quick to offer. " _I am sorry, I am not being a very good friend. I will help you tomorrow."_

"Thanks." he breathed out, relieved at the prospect of not being left alone to figure out what kind of paint he should buy. "And for the rest... It's not that I don't want to, I just..."

" _I understand."_ she assured him. _"We will just... Go with the flow, shall we?"_

He was happy to nod at that even if she couldn't see him.

He was afraid it would be weird to see her later that day when they picked up the children but she was her usual cheerful safe, greeting the kids with a kiss on the cheek that Katniss had finally stopped rubbing away as soon as Effie wasn't looking. Effie had somehow made it into his niece's routine – the first thing she did when they reached school every day was look for the woman so she could braid her hair.

Katniss wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of spending another Saturday shopping but she perked up a little when he told her she could choose posters to decorate the room. A _Brave_ poster was a given. She was even less thrilled when she discovered the store was a few towns over and would require an hour long drive.

He was still negotiating the following morning when Effie rang the doorbell and he kept on negotiating while the woman wordlessly complied with the request for her to braid the girl's hair. Effie was having fun with all that braiding, he noticed, every day she switched the styles of the braids, sometimes making the whole thing very complicated – much more than it should be in his opinion, given than he was the one having to undo it and untangle it with the hairbrush afterwards.

"Why don't I sit in the back with you, Katniss?" Effie suggested after a few minutes of pointless arguing from the child that they could walk to the store and that she wouldn't get tired because she was a big girl. "You know... In case I get scared? This way you can hold my hand."

She managed to convince the girl she was making her a huge favor in allowing her to sit in the back with her and Katniss climbed in and settled down, immediately holding out her hand for Effie to take and clutching her Mockingjay to her chest with her free arm.

"So you won't be scared." the girl told Effie.

"You work magic." Haymitch declared, making sure Katniss' belt was secured. He was rewarded with a beaming smile.

Working magic apparently also involved singing Disney songs at the top of their lungs and driving him half mad. At least, he supposed, Katniss was too busy singing _Colors of the Wind_ – her latest discovery in the Disney world and her now third favorite after Merida and Mulan but before Ariel because Pocahontas sang, ran through the woods and had dark long hair like hers – to be afraid of spending so much time in the car. There was a lot of giggling on the back seat even though he suspected almost all the giggles came from Effie who declared, as soon as she stepped out of the car, that the girl had a real singing talent.

"Next you're going to say you want to register her in talent shows." he snorted, instinctively catching the kid when she flung herself at him from the car. "Where do you want to start, sweetheart?"

Katniss shrugged and Haymitch didn't have a particular plan in mind aside from getting her basics : a bed that would fit her small size better, a desk or a small table that she could use to draw or do homework or whatever four years old liked to do, a small shelf for the children books quickly accumulating in a pile next to the bed, maybe a new rug...

It turned out going anywhere near a shop with Effie Trinket without a plan in hands was a bad idea.

She declared it simply unacceptable, pulled a notepad and a pen out of her purse, forced him to write list and then charged in that store with more focus and determination than he had seen some men charge into combat situations with.

"She's completely crazy." he told Katniss while Effie secured the help of a sale assistant.

The kid nodded wisely, her hair was tied up in a braid crown around her head and he had no idea how he would even start undoing that. "She's nice."

"Yeah." he agreed. "Crazy but nice."

"And funny." Katniss added. "Up."

He obediently picked her up but she was only satisfied once she was sitting on his shoulders. Effie came back with the sale assistant – whose smile was already strained in anticipation – and the worst afternoon of his life began. He would have bought the first things that caught his eyes that both fulfilled his requirements and Katniss' tastes but that wasn't good enough for Effie. For each new piece of furniture, she asked for price ranges, discounts, satisfaction rates, materials, safety... Before long he had a headache and Katniss regularly sighed that she was bored.

They spent half the afternoon arguing because she was bossy, fussy and absolutely insufferable. She retorted that he was lazy, rude, and had no idea how to properly conduct business. It culminated in a rant about mahogany he surrendered to because she looked half in love with that type of wood. The sale assistant looked ready to burst into tears by the time they finally agreed on what to buy. Then, came the decoration options – and that was even worse but he let Katniss deal with that.

The kid was opinioned and wasn't afraid to go head to head with Effie. When the woman tried to convince her a bright colored rug was better than the plain forest green one the kid had chosen, Katniss simply declared that there was pink on it and she would _forever_ – and _ever_ – hate pink. Effie selected curtains that would go well with the rug – a shade of blue, Katniss approved with a nod.

Haymitch fell back when they started discussing pillows. The girl selected a few and one larger cushion for Buttercup so he could have a place to sleep – he didn't see why that was necessary since the cat was a monster that slept everywhere Haymitch was sure to trip over him.

 _Finally_ , they were ready to pay and he didn't know who was more relieved : the sale assistant or himself. They were standing in line, Effie and Katniss were in grand discussion over the possibility of finding _Brave_ or _Avengers_ sheets for the bed when Katniss lifted her arms up like she sometimes did when she was tired and wanted to be carried. Effie picked her up without pausing to think about it and continued talking.

Haymitch didn't comment on it but it was the first time the kid had let someone else but him carried her. Even Chaff hadn't been granted that privilege yet.

"You've got a cute daughter." the sale assistant declared once he was done filling out the forms for the delivery.

Katniss didn't say anything but she wrapped her arms around Effie's neck and rested her head on her shoulder. Haymitch didn't think it was because she was tired. He didn't correct the guy, he didn't see the point. He let Effie mumble an awkward _thank you_ and paid the amount required.

"Alright, next stop: toy store." he declared.

Katniss had behaved well and she deserved a treat, he decided. Besides, he had been meaning to increase her toy collection for a while now. She didn't have a lot.

She looked overwhelmed as soon as they stepped inside. There were too many kids running around, it was too loud and there were entirely too many people.

"I want to go home." she said immediately.

"Soon, sweetheart." he promised. "Just choose a few things first, okay?"

It took some coaxing but she finally accepted to walk the aisles in search of something she would like.

"It's the first time I see a child not demanding to buy everything they see." Effie remarked softly.

Katniss had a firm grip on both of their hands and was craning her neck to look at everything but she never stopped to touch. She eventually settled on a plushy goat that most kids obviously overlooked since the basket display was full of them. She looked at Haymitch hesitantly. "We can call her Lady."

"That's a wonderful choice of name." Effie smiled.

"Pick something else." Haymitch urged her. "You can get three things in all, alright? The goat makes one."

Katniss shuffled on her feet, worrying the stuffed toy between her hands. "But that's a lot of money and my Prim needs the money 'cause she's a baby."

Effie looked at him with a frown, confused, but Haymitch ignored her. He crouched in front of Katniss and tilted her little chin up since she wouldn't look at him.

"You don't worry about the money, alright, sweetheart?" he whispered. "And Prim... Prim doesn't need money where she is now. She's happy. And she wants you to be happy."

Katniss rubbed her eyes and then pressed her face in the side of the goat.

"How about we ask if they have any Merida merchandise?" Effie suggested, more cheerfully than Haymitch suspected she really was. "Come on, darling, you can show me how to hunt for toys. I have it on the _best_ authority that you are a huntress born. Peeta keeps telling me. I am afraid I am _quite_ helpless at hunting."

Katniss peeked over her goat, her eyes were bright and her lips were wobbling but, obviously, Effie's lack of hunting abilities was too grand an offense to go uncommented.

"I'll take you to the woods." the girl offered. "I'll teach you."

Given the small wince, Haymitch doubted Effie planned on going anywhere in the wilderness.

"Wonderful!" Effie squealed nonetheless, managing to sound enthusiastic.

Katniss was not really interested by the toys and followed Effie's nudging toward a board game Peeta liked and some packages with _Avengers_ figurines.

They had spent a lot of time walking the furniture store's alleys thanks to Effie's antics and the outing had lasted longer than he had thought it would. The girl was cranky and tired. She clung to him while he paid for her toys and snatched the goat back from the cashier as soon as possible, burying her face and the stuffed toy in his neck. It wasn't a huge surprise that she declared she wanted Haymitch and only Haymitch to sit with her in the backseat on the ride back.

"I will drive." Effie offered.

"But what if you get scared?" Katniss frowned, holding tight to her Mockingjay and her goat. She crawled on his lap and patted the seat she had just vacated. "You sit here with us. I'll protect you."

A fond smile played on Effie's lips. "That's too kind."

She humored the kid and fumbled with the integrated kid seat so she could sit with them and crept closer when Katniss reached for her from Haymitch's lap. They eventually ended up with their sides pressed against each other and the girl's legs on Effie's lap. He knew the signs and guessed she would fall asleep soon enough, Effie must have recognized them too because she simply placed a hand on the kid's shin and drew random pattern with her thumb. It seemed soothing to look at so he figured it probably was. Katniss' head slowly nodded toward his chest and he adjusted his hold on her to make sure she didn't fall.

"We'll walk back." she mumbled.

"Just sleep, darling." Effie murmured softly, picking up the worn out stuffed bird when it escaped her grip and placing it on the child's lap.

Katniss' breathing slowly evened out but she wasn't completely asleep yet. Effie's head tentatively rested on his shoulder long before the girl shut her eyelids. For a while, they stayed that way. They must have been quite ridiculous from outside, the three of them sitting in the back of a car, taking a little nap.

"Why don't you have one of your own?" he asked, careful to keep his voice low. The question popped out before he could think better of it.

He was expecting the kind of answers most women would give, that she hadn't met the right man or that it wasn't the right time, but knew deep down that there was more to the story than that. He doubted Effie Trinket had ever let anything stop her in her life and that included _waiting for the right man_. As for the right time... She was so good with Peeta, so good with Katniss... And she looked happy when she was with the kids. He doubted it was a question of timing either.

"I can't." she replied calmly. It was obviously something that still hurt, he heard it in her voice, but also something she had made her peace with a long time ago. "I have Peeta, it is more than enough. Truly." She remained silent for a minute or so. "Prim was her sister, wasn't she? You mentioned a sister..."

"Yeah." he sighed. "She's doing good, considering."

"Are you?" she asked, straightening up to look at him. "You lost them too, I can't imagine..."

"Didn't know them." he shrugged, careful not to disturb the girl. "Never spoke to my sister. She was only my half sister. It's a long story. Not a good one. Never did very good with family. Poor kid drew the short straw ending up with me."

"Don't say that." she chided him. "I have seen you with her, it is actually impressive for someone who has no experience."

"Wouldn't be that impressed if you knew I'm craving a drink every five minutes, Princess." he snorted.

He didn't know what possessed him to confess that.

She had a good poker face, she didn't react at all. "Actually, I would be even more impressed."

It was getting dark and she offered to drive in case Katniss woke up and wanted him. It was late by the time they reached the Seam, later than he had thought it would be.

"Wanna grab something to eat?" he suggested. "There's a dinner not too far from my place. It's not high class but the food's good."

She flashed him a smile in the rear-view mirror. "I am _famished_."

Waking Katniss up proved to be a challenge but she eventually perked up at the mention of food.

 _High class_ really wasn't an adjective that could apply to _The Hob_. He saw Effie give the dinner a weary glance when she thought he wasn't looking. She seemed so out of place on the small parking lot full of old cars and knocked-over garbage bins that he wondered what he was even doing with her. The short pink dress, the immaculate white coat, the heels... She was so far out of his league, it wasn't even funny.

But then she felt his stare and flashed him a bright smile and his stomach did some impressive jolts…

Katniss wouldn't walk so he carried her inside, ignoring the brief hull in conversations when the little bell signaled their entrance. He hadn't been back to _The_ _Hob_ since he had adopted his niece but he used to be a regular – mainly because when it had been just him, he could never bother to cook.

It was Hazelle's shift and she immediately walked out from behind the counter when she saw him to give him a bear hug, Katniss included.

"Where have you _been_?" she scolded him. "No news at all for a month and a half! I was starting to worry." He felt Effie tense and take a step closer. He shot her an inquisitive glance but her face was blank and her lips pursed. Hazelle didn't notice though because her eyes fell on the girl in his arms and she frowned. "Katniss?"

Katniss looked up at the sound of her name and her eyes widened when she saw Hazelle. "Is Gale here?"

"What's going on?" Haymitch asked, completely flabbergasted. "You two know each other?"

It turned out Hazelle used to be a neighbor of the Everdeens and that Katniss and her son Gale used to be best friends even though Gale was two years older. She was just as stunned as he was by the coincidence since she had had no idea Haymitch even had a niece.

At the third interjection from Katniss that she was hungry, Effie – who he had completely forgotten in the conundrum – reached for her and declared she would find them a booth and order something for them if another waitress would take care of them. Hazelle took the hint and led them to a table herself, jotting down their order. Katniss, always the carnivore, asked for a steak with fries. Effie ordered a salad.

"Cheap date you have, Haymitch." Hazelle joked without any hostility, simply because the salad was the less expensive thing on the menu.

Effie glared and fussed over Katniss who was still annoyed from having been woken up, disappointed that Gale wasn't there with Hazelle, and was, as a consequence, cranky. When Hazelle finally left, Effie was pouting and the silence wasn't exactly comfortable.

They had spent most of the day arguing but, somehow, it hadn't felt as uncomfortable as _this_.

"She's an old friend." he felt compelled to explain.

"Yes, I gathered." she retorted with a cold sort of politeness.

Katniss' eyes darted from one to the other. It was plain to see Effie was upset. She was looking through the window, drumming her extremely fake nails on the table, her lips pursed into obvious irritation.

"Gale's my best friend." the girl announced before amending. "With Peeta."

"That's wonderful, dear." Effie answered, forcing some warmth in her voice.

It didn't fool the kid.

Katniss wrinkled her little nose, clearly trying hard to figure out why Effie wasn't her usual boisterous self. Haymitch had a good idea and took pity on his niece.

"Hazelle's really just a friend." he insisted. "She's married, she has kids... There's nothing going on there."

"It is none of my business, is it?" Effie retorted.

"Then quit acting like a bitch about it." he snapped.

If glares could kill, he would have dropped dead.

"Effie's not a dog." Katniss piped in, confused. "Why do you say she's a bitch, Uncle Haymitch?"

Katniss' cluelessness was sometimes cute beyond belief and sometimes simply _unwelcomed_.

"It is a _bad_ word, darling." Effie explained. "One you should _never_ use and certainly _not_ to talk about a woman. But then again _some people_ are simply _rude_."

Hazelle chose that moment to reappear with their order. She asked if they wanted anything to drink and Haymitch almost caved and asked for anything alcoholic they might have. One look at Katniss was enough to remind him why that would be a very bad idea.

"I want milk." the kid requested.

"Please and thank you." Effie reminded her gently. "There is no reason for you to become as rude as your uncle."

Hazelle's eyebrows shot up but she remained blissfully silent.

"I want milk, please and thank you." Katniss repeated in a tone that perfectly conveyed how annoyed she was with the whole business.

"You don't see me lecturing your godson about his manners, do you, sweetheart?" Haymitch grumbled.

"That would be because they are _flawless_ , thank you very much." she replied. "And do _not_ think I forgot what you just called me. I expect an apology."

"Don't hold your breath on that." he scoffed. "You started it."

"I started _nothing_." she denied.

" _Okay_." Hazelle butted in. "I will come back with your milk, Catnip."

"Catnip?" Effie repeated with a frown.

"That's a nickname Gale came up with because he couldn't say her name properly." the other woman explained, waving it off with a smile. "It stuck."

"Peeta can say my name." Katniss offered, stabbing a fry with her fork, oblivious to the contest she was blindly entering.

"Peeta has always been advanced for his age." Effie commented proudly.

"It's just a cute nickname." Hazelle declared a little briskly, probably vexed by the "advanced" comment.

"Effie does my hair." Katniss continued, patting her head. Some strands had escaped the braid and it didn't look as perfect as it had earlier that afternoon. "It looks like a crown. Not like a queen, like the ones with the leaves on their heads on TV, the ones who wear sheets..."

"Romans?" Effie suggested, glancing at Haymitch. "What did you let her watch?"

"Who are you now? The TV police?" he mumbled. "I watched the history channel sometimes, that's forbidden?"

"I'm a victor!" Katniss exclaimed, delighted with her own ability to remember the word. Then she remembered the subject at hand and, still chewing on one of her fries, she pointed at her head again for Hazelle's benefit. "I like it when Effie does my hair."

"Swallow before speaking, darling." Effie chided her. "No one wants to see what is in your mouth when you talk."

Haymitch rolled his eyes. "She's a kid."

"And thus it is important she learns _now_." she retorted.

"I will go get the milk." Hazelle repeated and Haymitch had the distinct impression she was happy to be able to escape. He couldn't say he wouldn't have liked the same opportunity.

Watching Effie eat was something. She ate like she did everything else : with method. Her movements were precise and graceful and he didn't seem to be able to keep his eyes off her mouth, mainly because her tongue sometimes poked out to lick at her lips.

"Staring is rude." she commented at some point.

"You ever do anything fun even though it's rude, sweetheart?" he teased.

"What could be fun in staring at me when I am eating?" she scoffed.

"Just enjoying the view." he shrugged.

She hesitated, placing her fork and her knife down before meeting his eyes. "I cannot tell if you mean that as a joke or if it is genuine."

"Fishing for compliments?" he chuckled. "There's not a woman in here that holds a candle to you and you know it."

"Not even Hazelle?" she insisted, lifting a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"She's just a _friend_ , Effie." he sighed.

"She's beautiful." she retorted.

"You're beautifuler." Katniss declared, swallowing the last piece of meat he had cut for her. "I love you best."

Effie was left so speechless she didn't even corrected the kid's grammar.

"See?" he snorted. "Out of the mouths of babes..."

"Oh, _shush_ it!" she blushed.

Still, she was a little more cordial with Hazelle, even when she suggested she and Haymitch should arrange a play-date for Gale and Katniss. Katniss was in a food coma and completely exhausted by when they left the dinner and she was asleep well before they even reached the car. They drove home in silence but there was a small smile on Effie's lips that remained there even when he parked in front of his house.

A glance in the rear-view mirror confirmed Katniss was dead to the world.

"You want to come in?" he asked.

He didn't even know what he had in mind, if it was innocent or...

"It's late." she countered softly. "And I am not sure it is a brilliant idea." He nodded, a little disappointed. She winced. "I should go."

"Wait a minute, okay?" he pressed her. "Just... Wait a minute."

She leaned against her own car while he extracted Katniss from the kid seat and carried her inside. She was in deep slumber so he simply put her on the couch for the time being and covered her with the old woolen blanket that resided permanently on the armchair. He was almost afraid Effie would be gone when he stepped back outside but she was still there, checking her phone. She placed it back in her purse when she saw him approaching.

The wind had knocked her hair loose from the fancy bun she usually kept it in and it curled around her face. She kept tucking the wayward strands behind her ears to keep them out of her eyes. It was getting cold and her nose and cheeks were reddish.

"Haymitch, I have been thinking..." she started as soon as he was in hearing range.

"You don't say." he taunted.

She glared but didn't let herself be swayed from her line of thought. "We argue _a lot_. Only today we hardly did anything but and I simply do not think... Perhaps it would be best if we remained friends."

"Friends." he repeated, reaching out to brush her hair away from her face. His hand lingered on her cheek, trailed down to her throat.

"We do not seem to agree on anything." she whispered, her eyes riveted to his mouth.

"I think we agree you really want me to kiss you right now." he chuckled, coiling his hand around her nape, his thumb running up and down the side of her neck.

" _You_ really want to kiss _me_." she corrected.

"You're unbearable and loud and annoying and snobbish and I absolutely hate people like you." he informed her, taking a step closer, effectively pinning her to the side of her car.

"You are rude and inconsiderate of people's feelings, you are indifferent to the point of offensiveness and I find it _abhorrent_." she hissed, placing her hands on his chest. She didn't push though, she grabbed the lapels of his coat and tugged slightly, but he didn't give in just yet. He stopped stroking the side of her neck with his thumb to place it on her pulse point. Her heart was racing. And so was his.

"You're also very hot." he pointed out.

"Which is my only redeeming quality, I am sure." she scowled, averting her eyes. "I have heard this tune before."

"Doesn't hurt. But I also like that you're caring and completely crazy." he denied. "And bossy. I have a thing for bossy."

"Oh." she said, looking up at him. "Well, I _do_ suppose it wasn't the worst first date I have ever been on."

"I don't really do dates. Or romance." he winced. "I mean... If that's what you want..."

"I think what I want right now is very obvious." she murmured. "And if you don't give it to me, I will just have to take it, won't I?"

"Try." he dared her.

She was not one to back down from a challenge. She leaned in and he drew back until he couldn't take it anymore but, even then, he still escaped her mouth, their lips brushing together in an electrifying chase. His coat was bundled between her fingers, she was pulling him closer, always closer... His hand remained around her nape, his thumb finding her chin and nudging it up... His other hand sneaked under her coat and found her waist, his right leg pushed between hers...

"I'm kind of fucked up." he mumbled against her jaw, still locked in that hopeless chase, trying to make the moment last. "You should know. I'm fucked up, PTSD and all that _shit,_ and I come with a kid who's also a little fucked up."

Her hands left his coat to tangled in his too long hair, angling his head so she could lean her forehead against his.

"I have baggage too." she whispered. "And Peeta and I are a package deal. If that is too much for you..."

" _You're_ too much for me." he snorted. "But I don't think that's a bad thing."

"Good." she grinned.

Her mouth crashed on his and he forgot how to breathe… They fumbled around a little at first. It had been some time since he had last kissed someone and it always took a few seconds of adaptation for a first kiss anyway. Their noses bumped together, he was pressing into her too much... But when she pushed her tongue into his mouth, the kiss became demanding and _perfect_. He wanted the control back and, for a minute, they kissed like they argued : roughly and forcefully. One of her hands slid down to his face, her nails scarped against the stubble covering his chin. His fingers clenched on her waist but when she sneaked her right hand inside his coat and underneath his shirt, he almost lost it.

His hips jerked forward and she moaned in his mouth.

The sound was too arousing, too _perfect._ It drove him _mad_. The answering growl left his throat without his consent or knowledge and he rolled his hips again.

"I... We should..." she gasped against his lips. "Stop... We should... Stop..."

"You should come inside." he replied, leaving a hot trail of kisses from her lips to her throat. He didn't particularly want to do that outside in late fall, against a car. It reminded him too much of his youth and it made it look too much like that meant nothing. He _wanted_ it to mean _something_.

"I... No. Katniss..." she protested.

"Is asleep." he promised, moving his mouth up again until he reached her ear. He nibble on her earlobe, his tongue toying with her golden earring and she let out a pleading whine. She was sensitive there, he filled that information for later use.

"But not in her bed." she argued. "And this is only our first date and I am a lady. A lady doesn't..." He had moved on to sucking the soft skin at the hollow of her throat and her head fell back against the roof of her car with a _thud_. "Haymitch."

He didn't know if that was a plea for him to continue or to stop. He doubted she knew herself. His fingers danced on her thigh, a little frustrated by the silky feeling of her tights. He would rip them off given the chance.

"I want to see you come apart." he growled against her throat, his hand finding its way under her dress. "We don't have to do anything else. You don't have to do anything else."

She framed his face with his hands and brought him in a kiss that left him so out of breath he could have sworn he saw stars. She took advantage of his momentary distraction to relocate his hands to more appropriate places before nuzzling his jaw with her nose.

"That will only be more frustrating than rewarding." she whispered. "I want the first time to be for us both. Not tonight though."

He grunted with disappointment at being denied but grudgingly admitted to himself that going slow would probably be for the best.

He kissed her one last time – which turned into several last kisses – and then finally found the strength to step back.

She bit on her bottom lip which didn't help him at all keep his hands to himself."I'll see you on Monday?"

He nodded and watched her climb into her fancy sport car and drive away.

He took a moment to collect himself before going back inside. Katniss was where he had left her and she didn't stir when he carried her to her bed and tucked her in.

He, on the other hand, was restless for the rest of the night.

* * *

 _What did you think of the first date that wasn't a first date? Let me know your thoughts!_


	6. Chapter 6

_**6.**_

Haymitch was very used to the patting of tiny feet now but he looked up from his book anyway, knowing the footsteps were different from those he was used to and that there was no reason for any kid to seek him out when they were supposed to be playing unless there was a problem. He was keeping an eye on them because he had quickly decided that Gale was worse than Johanna – and he had made a mental note to never _ever_ under _any_ circumstance have those two over at the same time.

"What's wrong, buddy?" he frowned, watching a sulking Peeta come in through the backdoor. He was sitting with his chair angled in a way that he had a good view of the backyard through the open door and the window over the sink and could watch what the kids were up too without freezing. He had made sure to lock the geese in their pen – Gale's first visit had been such a stress on the poor birds they hadn't laid an egg in two days – and had forbidden them to go anywhere near it. Last time he had bothered to ask, they were all playing hide and seek. As long as he could hear them, he figured they were okay.

"When does my auntie come?" Peeta asked, tugging on the sleeve of his coat to get it off his back. Haymitch helped him without even thinking twice about it, too used to doing it for Katniss by now.

"Half an hour, I think. She said she would be here around five thirty." he frowned. "Why? You're feeling okay?"

Peeta had never asked for Effie before, he was usually happy to stay with Katniss for as long as he was allowed. But Gale had never been there before either, he mused, and the boys hadn't exactly taken to each other well. Katniss was oblivious, as usual, but Haymitch had quickly figured that if Effie's little jealous outburst toward Hazelle was anything to go by, Peeta's would be worse.

He and Effie hadn't had many chances to see each other since the "first date that wasn't really a first date", her friends, Cinna and Portia, were out of town for a fashion show or another, which meant she was busier than usual at the shop. He had lost count of the number of times he had picked Peeta up for her at school in the last week and a half. Aside for a couple of stolen kisses when they could get away with it without the kids seeing, they hadn't gotten much further either. Chaff was forever teasing him about turning into a romantic in his old age.

The boy shrugged.

"I'm fine." he mumbled.

He could still hear Katniss and Gale playing outside, apparently not worried about Peeta's disappearance.

"You're tired of hide and seek?" he insisted.

"They're playing hunting now." Peeta told him, folding his arms on the table and resting his head on them. "Katniss says I'm too loud for hunting. And it's cold. My leg hurts when it's cold."

It was the first time Peeta had volunteered any information about his leg and Haymitch stored it for ulterior consideration. It wasn't _terribly_ cold outside or he would have told the kids to come back inside, the pale sun was warm enough that the coats and scarves were enough protection but maybe Peeta was more sensitive to the weather.

"Want some hot cocoa?" he offered, already moving to the fridge to get the milk. He rather fancied a hot cocoa himself. "Why don't you tell Katniss and Gale to come play with you inside?"

"They don't want to." Peeta pouted. "They want to play hunting."

Haymitch expected better from his niece and he was a little disappointed although not particularly surprised by this selfish side of her. It went hand in hand with her cluelessness.

"Go get a board game from Katniss room, then." he suggested. There was no reason Peeta had to sit bored and miserable until Effie arrived just because the girl was too busy playing with a boy who insisted on calling her Catnip. It was _also_ possible Haymitch had chosen his side in this little rivalry that had developed between the boys. Hazelle might be his friend but her kid was a brat.

"But they don't want to play." Peeta argued.

"I'll play with you." he shrugged, putting the milk on the stove. He didn't miss the flash of delight on the boy's face. Kids were so easy to please...

"Really?" Peeta perked up. "Just you and me?"

"Yeah." he shrugged again, not seeing what the big deal was. He had become quite an expert at board games now, it wasn't Katniss' favorite way to pass time but it suited them well enough when the weather was poor and they were not in a mood for watching TV or reading.

"Katniss is so lucky!" the boy exclaimed. "My daddy never plays with me..."

There were several wrong things in that statement but Haymitch found himself correcting the obvious.

"I'm not Katniss' daddy, buddy." he pointed out. "I'm her uncle like Effie's your aunt."

Peeta waved that away with the usual easiness of children who didn't get why things had to be more complicated than they actually were. "But it's the same! Except she's lucky 'cause she gets to live with you and now you're like her daddy forever. I wish I could live with Auntie forever and she could be my mommy."

Haymitch took the now hot milk off the stove and poured it in two mugs before adding the cocoa, giving himself some time to ponder how to best answer that. In the end, he set Peeta's mug in front of him, mumbling an automatic warning to wait until it was cooler to drink it, and sat back down. He glanced at the backyard but Katniss was still in sight, creeping along the dried grass while Gale hid behind the old stump left by the tree he had cut years ago.

"You know what happened to Katniss' family, right?" he asked.

Peeta nodded. "They went away, Auntie said so."

Tact wasn't his stronger suit but he forced himself to tread carefully.

"She's very sad about it. You can't tell her she's lucky, okay?" he said.

Peeta frowned. "But I would like it if I could live with Auntie and Katniss gets to live with you."

"Yeah, but it's _not_ a good thing." Haymitch sighed. "She can never see her family again or talk to them. She misses them. Wouldn't you miss your family if you could never see them or talk to them again?"

"But I love Auntie _bestest_." the boy countered. And wasn't that all kind of fucked up...

Time for another angle. "Well, it's like you could never see your auntie again."

"'Cause she doesn't love me anymore?" His lips started wobbling and Haymitch was afraid he would start crying.

"No, no... She still loves you but you can never see her again because... Well..." He was at a loss and making it worse. Never try to have a philosophical debate with a kid, he mused. _Never_.

"'Cause Mommy doesn't want Auntie to see me anymore so I can't?" Peeta insisted, worrying his hands together. It was obvious, given how quick it came to his mind, that it was something he truly was afraid of. "I want my auntie."

"I... Yeah, she's gonna be there _real_ soon. Forget it, all of it. Just... Don't tell Katniss she's lucky, alright?" he winced. "What about that board game? Go choose one. We'll play until your aunt gets here."

 _Crisis_ _averted_ , he mused as the kid perked up a little at that. They spent some time playing and drinking their hot cocoa. At least, Peeta seemed to have a blast of it and even offered to start the game from scratch again when Gale and Katniss finally decided it was too cold to play outside.

He left the children to it, shooting out of his chair in relief when the doorbell rang. Effie grinned as soon as he opened the door but, instead of greeting her properly, Haymitch winced. "Look, I may have upset your boy. I'm sorry."

The grin turned to a frown and she barely had time to brace herself before Peeta ran out of the kitchen and barreled right into her, wrapping his arms around her leg like an octopus.

"What is wrong, darling?" she asked, her blue eyes darting from her godson to Haymitch.

"I don't want you to ever leave me forever." Peeta cried out. "I love you."

Effie immediately picked him up and held him close. "What did you say to him?"

He opened and closed his mouth, wondering how to explain what had happened. He still wasn't entirely sure himself. "We were talking about Katniss' family, I tried to make him understand but..." He passed a hand over his face. He was sorry he had hurt the boy's feelings but he had never claimed to be an expert with kids. "I made a mess, sweetheart, I'm sorry."

She softened a little. "Oh, it is alright, then. Peeta, I already explained about Katniss' family, don't you remember?"

"But I didn't know she loves them like I love you!" the boy mumbled in her neck. "I thought she loves Haymitch like I love you. And they went away forever and if you go away forever I will be sad but I thought she was happy because I would be happy if mommy and daddy leave and let me live with you forever."

Effie faltered and it was probably a good thing the kid had his face against her neck because Haymitch was certain she wouldn't have wanted him to see the look of anger and love battling on her face.

"I... Peeta..." she stuttered. "You cannot say things like that, it's..."

She looked at him for help but Haymitch shrugged, not knowing enough about the whole situation. Fortunately, Katniss was a welcomed distraction. Her head poked out of the kitchen and she brightened up when she saw Effie. She took two hurried steps and then slowed down, probably remembering Gale was right behind her with his two older years of wisdom, ready to call her a baby at the earliest opportunity. For some reason, the girl seemed determined to impress that kid.

"Hello, Katniss." Effie offered with a gentle smile. "I see you have a little friend over."

"I'm not little." Gale protested, wrinkling his nose. He eyed Effie distrustfully, taking in the colorful dress under the white coat, the heels and the make-up. "You look funny. Like a clown."

Haymitch laughed.

There was nothing else to do in his opinion.

"Well! How _rude_!" Effie huffed.

"You _do_ look like a clown today." Haymitch pointed out. And he was being nice when he said _today_. "This is Gale. Hazelle's kid."

" _Of course,_ he is." she hissed, obviously still not over her little jealousy fit.

Unfortunately, Peeta wasn't distracted by their exchange, he struggled until Effie placed him down, and glared at Gale.

"Don't call my auntie a clown." the boy snapped.

"Your auntie's a _clown_ and you're a _baby_." Gale taunted. "Right, Catnip? Tell him he's a baby."

Katniss was clearly caught between a rock and a hard place.

"Enough." Effie declared. "You, little man, are _rude_."

"I'm _not_ little!" Gale repeated stubbornly. "Tell him he's a baby, Catnip."

"He's a baby." Katniss repeated without much conviction but loud enough that it carried.

"Katniss." Haymitch snapped, annoyed with her for not standing up for her friend and following that boy like a sheep. "Go to your room." Katniss remained rooted there, staring at him with obvious confusion. It was the first time he had truly scolded her since she had arrived and, clearly, she wasn't used to it. "You're having a time out. Go to your room. No, wait. Apologize first."

"I don't care." Peeta said before Katniss could do it. "Maybe I'm a baby but he's an _idiot_."

"Peeta!" Effie clicked her tongue. "Other people's rudeness is no excuse for calling names. Apologize this instant."

"I'm sorry." Peeta said mechanically, without meaning any of it.

"I think we should go." she said, pursing her lips in displeasure at the whole ordeal.

"Katniss loves me best anyway." Gale snickered.

Effie's lips were pursed so tight they formed a thin line. She outstretched a hand to her godson. "Come on, darling."

"Effie..." Haymitch winced.

"It is alright." she reassured him, brushing her free hand against his on the way to the door. "I will see you tomorrow."

Haymitch was really angry when they were gone and he turned to his niece. "When you act like this, you don't deserve that boy. Go to your room." For a second, a spark of defiance shone in her eyes. He narrowed his. " _Don't_ make me say it again or I won't take you to the woods again until you're twenty. And you can kiss the _Brave_ dvd goodbye." Her lips wobbled but she jutted her chin in the air and proudly walked up the stairs to her room. With her gone, he turned to Gale who looked smug but a little afraid. "You can stand in the corner and face the wall until your mother comes to get you."

"I don't have to do what you say." Gale grumbled.

"Don't try me, boy." he growled.

Hazelle wasn't exactly happy to find he had punished her son but she was even less happy once he had told her what had happened. Gale got an earful all the way to the car.

He fixed dinner, preferring to cool down before tackling the obvious problem.

Katniss was sitting cross-legged on her brand new bed. It still shocked him when he walked in her room, how different it was from before. If it hadn't sunk in yet that this was permanent, stepping into her room would have been a good reminder. The stuffed goat was on her lap and she was toying with her Mockingjay, deep in thought. When she saw him come in, she looked away with a scowl.

"You don't get to sulk." he told her firmly. "What you did to Peeta was bad. You hurt his feelings."

"You like Peeta best." she accused in what was, he felt, a completely random way.

"Don't switch the topic." he growled. "Peeta is always nice. Gale isn't. I don't dislike Gale but I like having Peeta over better, _yeah_."

"You like him more than _me_." she clarified.

Haymitch blinked, stunned. "Where does _that_ come from?"

"You made him hot cocoa." she scowled. "I didn't get hot cocoa."

"I made him hot cocoa because you were too busy playing with Gale to take care of your other friend and he was feeling left out." Haymitch rolled his eyes. "You're my niece. He's our friend. That's not the same thing."

"So you love _me_ best?" she asked, the scowl morphing into a hopeful expression.

"'Course I do." he sighed. "But when you act like a little spoiled brat, I wonder why. First thing you do tomorrow at school is apologize to the boy, you get it? And to Effie too."

"But I didn't say anything to Effie." Katniss protested, wrinkling her nose. " _You_ said she's a clown."

"Yeah, but I was teasing and she knows that." he argued. At least, he _hoped_ she did. " _You_ were acting like a brat. I was _ashamed_ of you."

Her little lips wobbled and tears pooled in her eyes.

"I don't think Peeta is a baby." she sniffed. "I didn't want Gale to say _I_ was a baby. I'm _sorry_. I love you, don't be ashamed of me anymore. I love you, Uncle Haymitch. I'm sorry."

And then she was really crying and jumping from the bed directly into his arms and what else could he do but hug her and say he forgave her? He didn't know if that was the right way to handle this sort of thing. He didn't know what else to do.

The next morning, she put on her only dress, the one with the flames – so she could be pretty for Peeta – and insisted on waiting for him in front of the school with a bunch of paper pencils and markers, all different shades of orange – because orange was his favorite color. She ran to hug him as soon as the boy and Effie appeared at the end of the street and Peeta seemed placated by that because, even though the kid still look a little frosty, he also didn't look resentful. Still, Haymitch noticed, he was quick in dragging Katniss to where Finnick and Annie were. Katniss didn't even ask Effie to do her hair.

"You want to grab a coffee?" he offered, once the kids were safely inside the school. Coffee wasn't normally something he would suggest but he was desperate for some alone time with her. The memory of the other night was still seared in his brain and he wanted a repeat.

"I have to go to work." she sighed. "I am still alone at the shop."

"Need some help?" he asked, because _desperate_ was an accurate word and he had nothing better to do anyway.

"Careful what you are offering. I might say yes." she joked.

"Say yes then." he insisted.

She said yes.

They barely made it past the shop door before they were kissing.

They were moving but he had no idea as to where until his back hit the counter with the cashing machine. He slipped the coat off her shoulders, his jacket ended up being tossed somewhere on the other side of the counter... At no point did he take his mouth away from hers, too busy learning the shape of her lips, what she liked, what made her weaker in the knees...

One of his hands found her backside and squeezed. He almost expected her to bat it away but she giggled against his mouth instead. "This is _very_ improper, Haymitch. What have you made of me?"

"I'm not done with you yet." he smirked, turning them around so she was the one pinned against the counter. It was higher than hip level and it wouldn't do – _yes_ , he actually thought it and _no_ , he wasn't ashamed of it. "I missed you." he mumbled before he could help himself, tilting her head to the side so he could have access to her neck. The smell of her perfume was intoxicating.

"You see me every day." she teased.

"Okay, then I missed _this_." he snorted, nibbling on a spot right under jaw. "Could get used to this _real_ fast, sweetheart."

Her fingers buried in his hair, gently tugging so he would draw back.

"Me too..." she breathed out, biting on her bottom lip with a small wince. "But not in my shop?"

He snorted and stole another kiss, relocating his hands to more appropriate places. He didn't move away from her though, he didn't think he would have been able to without a very good reason.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday." he muttered, toying with her long silver earring. "I don't like your kid getting upset."

She batted his hand away with a playful grin. "It is alright, do not worry. He doesn't hold grudges so he and Katniss will probably be fine by the time school is over. He does _not_ like Gale though. I think he is a little jealous."

"Jealous of a Hawthorne... Must run in the family." he mocked, dropping a soft kiss on her lips.

"We have established you think I am more beautiful than Hazelle so I shall be contented with that." she grinned.

"You're completely nuts." he told her very seriously.

"You love it." she accused.

"Only a little." He rolled his eyes, fighting the smile that was threatening to blow on his lips. What had she done to him that he wanted to smile like a fool? "I meant about the other thing anyway. I didn't mean to upset the boy... It's just... He said Katniss was lucky to live with me and I didn't want him to go tell my girl that, 'cause then _she_ would have been upset. I sucked at explaining and then it was a huge mess..."

"It's fine." she hummed. "This is a sensitive subject for Peeta. The situation is... complicated."

"So you've said. Several times." he pointed out, tightening his hold on her waist. "But you still haven't explained."

She opened her mouth, probably to do just that, when the little bell announcing a new client rang and she quickly stepped out of his arms to go greet her customer. He picked up her coat and placed it on the counter. He waited a little but the client was fussy and Effie was obviously busy so he made his escape, she caught him at the door and kissed him goodbye. It was quick and still new but oh _so_ _good_.

Another good thing was that Katniss and Peeta had _indeed_ made up when he picked her up after school. Peeta greeted him with a big hug. Apparently, playing a board game with him made him the second best adult he knew.

Effie fished some envelopes out of her purse and handed them to the boy. Peeta's eyes immediately brightened and he handed one of them to a very confused Katniss. Haymitch frowned inquisitively at Effie but she simply smiled and signaled him to wait until the girl had opened the envelope, studied the card inside and handed it to him for further inspection.

"Birthday pool party." he read before glancing at Effie. " _Really_?"

"It's my birthday!" Peeta exclaimed. "In... How many days, Auntie?"

"Six." she answered indulgently. "But the party is in ten days. Run along and give your invitations, darling."

Naturally, Katniss went with him, after snatching her own back from Haymitch's hand.

" _Pool_ party?" he insisted.

"It will be perfectly safe." she declared, waving away any concerns. "Water wings will be mandatory naturally, and I won't be alone. Cinna and Portia will be there to help me supervise, Peeta's father should be there too and you, of course. That makes five adults for ten children, I do think we can manage. A few parents might even be willing to stay..."

He wasn't even sure Katniss knew how to swim but that was a concern for another time.

"How am _I_ being roped into this?" he asked.

"Because you would never leave Katniss unsupervised even with me. And also because that is what a good boyfriend ought to do." she replied.

Actually, he probably would have trusted her with Katniss at this point. He had seen her enough times with Peeta and he knew she was reliable.

"Boyfriend?" he commented flatly.

She quickly blinked and he figured the word had escaped her. "I..." Her voice trailed off and she cleared her throat. "I apologize, I did not mean to imply that we were doing anything serious... I just..."

"Serious works for me." He heard himself say. He awkwardly shook his head. "I mean… If you just want fun, I'm game for it but… If you want serious… We can do serious."

"I would like that, yes." she answered with a small smile.

"Good." he shrugged. "But a _pool_ party? We're almost in _winter_."

"Oh, it's an indoor pool!" she laughed. "Do not worry, it will be warm enough. Do not forget your swimming suit."

"Indoor pool." he snorted. "Those things exist for real? And you say you're _not_ posh?"

"I am a former model who used to live in Los Angeles." she cringed defensively. "I am entitled to a few eccentricities."

"Sure, sweetheart." he humored her.

Katniss and Peeta were still busy running around giving away his invitations, the other parents were all either talking together or to their kids... He was certain nobody noticed when she leaned in so close he could almost count her eyelashes. Her breath rolled against his jaw, prompting him to lick his lips.

"Maybe you and Katniss could have a sleepover afterwards..." she whispered. "I also have a hot tub I would be happy to introduce you to, once the children are asleep. No swimming suits will be required."

"Now, you're a _minx_." he accused.

But the idea remained stuck in his head and he didn't know which one, out of him and Katniss, was more impatient about the party. Besides, he would have been lying if he had claimed that he wasn't curious about Peeta's father too.

That birthday party should be interesting.

* * *

 _Are you excited about the upcoming party? We get to see Effie's houuuuuse... Hint hint, it doesn't look like something you would find in the Appalachians. Did you like toddler Gale? Let me know!_


	7. Chapter 7

_**7.**_

Keeping in mind that she had an indoor pool, Haymitch should have expected it but somehow it still blew him away.

Effie Trinket didn't live in a house.

She lived in a _mansion_.

Even Katniss gaped as she climbed out of the car.

It was modern, exactly the kind of things he hated, and he had had no clue that this sort of houses existed in the back end of Virginia. It looked as if it had been directly transplanted from L.A. It was geometric, huge white squares piled together in a precarious balance, with enormous bay windows that probably weren't hiding much at night when all lights were on – it was lucky the house was a little out of town and there were no immediate neighbors – the garden was perfect down to a T and he was certain she had a team of gardeners to tend it. It looked futuristic, a little ridiculous and completely crazy. It was _out of this world_.

It was absolutely _Effie Trinket_.

Katniss craned her neck to take everything in as they walked to the front porch. Haymitch was starting to feel out of place and uncomfortable by the time they actually reached it. If a butler opened it, he mused, that would be the last straw that would send him running.

It was Cinna who opened the door though, wearing only jeans hanging low on red swim trunks. His eyeliner was silver today, the diamond earring was still there and there was a huge spiraling gold tattoo on his right pectoral.

"Katniss." he greeted the kid with a grin. "Peeta has been asking for you."

"Uncle Haymitch got lost." Katniss sighed as if it was all a great inconvenience.

Haymitch shook the hand Cinna offered. "Effie's directions weren't exactly _clear_."

"She never is." the man teased. "Come on, the party is next to the pool."

He led them through a maze of rooms and corridors. The house was huge, white, modern and spotless. It almost looked uninhabited and Haymitch hated the feel of it. The furniture looked uncomfortable, the paintings on the walls – he had _no doubts_ were originals – were intimidating, the big rooms with their minimalist interior decoration felt empty... How could she live in there all alone? His house was a respectable size but it was by no mean _huge_ and he used to feel lost in it before Katniss moved in. Peeta wasn't living with her full time. How did she cope?

The pool room – another eccentricity that still had him stunned when he really thought about it – wasn't as large as he had started to fear it would be. The pool was a decent size but not too long or too wide, yet it still seemed full with all the people laughing and splashing in it. The bay windows ran from floor to ceiling all around the room making it seem as if they were actually outside. There were white comfy looking chairs spread all around the pool – he had a feeling they wouldn't remain white too long – small potted trees and a table covered with fluffy towels. The hot tub was tucked in a corner between a wall and a bay window.

He spotted Jo and two other kids he didn't know yet playing with a ball, wrapped in some towels. Finnick and Annie were in the water, looking as if they hardly needed the water wings keeping them afloat. Two other unknown kids were splashing next to them, also looking quite at ease in the pool which made Haymitch wonder if all those kids were taking swimming lessons. And then, there was Peeta who was sitting on the steps leading down the pool and didn't seem to particularly enjoy his party.

There were three adults in the water with the kids. Mags and Blight who waved at him in greeting and a woman with purple hair and a diamond earring that matched Cinna's. She walked out of the water as soon as she saw them and he made an effort not to ogle what the swimming suit wasn't really hiding.

"Oh, is this Haymitch?" she grinned, studying him up and down and circling him to Cinna's obvious amusement. "We won't make a model out of him but I must say I _see_ the appeal."

Haymitch couldn't help but smirk.

"You're Portia." he deduced.

"I'm Portia." she confirmed. "Break my best friend's heart and I will break your nose."

This was delivered with a sweet smile but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes. It was hard to take her seriously because the top of her head barely reached his shoulder but tiny didn't always mean harmless and he was quick in changing the topic, discreetly nodding to Mags. "Is that safe?"

The old woman had looked frail the few times he had seen her.

"Oh, she spent her whole life in water!" Portia answered, waving away his concerns to crouch in front of Katniss. "And _you_ must be the _infamous_ Katniss. I heard _a lot_ about you. Did you like the dress Cinna found for you?" Katniss nodded, reaching for Haymitch's hand, a little overwhelmed by the whirlwind that was Portia – _definitely_ Effie's friend. The woman smiled wider. "You must bring her back to the store, Haymitch. Cinna only showed her his collection but I'm sure I can find some gems for her."

"Yeah. Okay." he granted, if only to convince the woman to leave them some breathing space. "Where's Effie?"

He didn't see her anywhere.

Unfortunately, before Cinna or Portia could answer, Peeta spotted them.

"Katniss!" he squeaked with delight. "Haymitch!"

The boy moved as if to stand up, completely forgetting about his leg – his missing leg – and ended up falling in the water. The water wings did their job though and he laughed at his own clumsiness. When Haymitch and Katniss came near enough he outstretched his hand so one of them would pull him near the edge of the pool again. Out of the corner of his eyes, Haymitch saw Portia going back in the water and Cinna walking to where the kids were playing with the ball.

Katniss was already undressing – and thank god he had had the presence of mind to tell her to put her swimming suit _before_ leaving the house or she would have given everyone a show.

"Happy birthday, buddy." He ruffled Peeta's hair.

"Thank you." the boy answered. His grin wasn't as wide as usual though and he looked entirely too subdued.

"What's wrong?" he frowned. "You're not enjoying the party?"

Peeta shrugged. "My Daddy made me a castle cake."

"A castle?" Katniss wrinkled her nose. "Why a castle?"

Peeta shrugged again.

"Castles are cool." Haymitch cut in, trying to put a positive spin on it. "Look, your aunt practically live in one."

"Daddy said he would come to the party." Peeta continued. "But he didn't stay. Auntie said he had to work."

The kid looked completely dejected. Haymitch had never met his parents but he already hated them. "Too bad. He's going to miss all the fun."

"Auntie said we're going to take a lot of pictures to show him later." Peeta answered. "I don't think he'll want to look. I don't think my Daddy loves me very much. He loves Gary, Rye and Sal better 'cause they're grown-ups."

Haymitch hesitated, not sure what to say to comfort the boy but Katniss stomped her foot, finally down to her swimming suit.

"Then he's an idiot." she declared with all the authority of her four years of life before jumping in the pool to wrap her arms around the boy's neck. " _I_ love you."

Peeta beamed and hugged her back. His smile was so bright, it was like Katniss had just presented him with the moon and stars on a plate…

Haymitch loathed to interrupt but he still insisted that his niece put on the water wings. That was a conundrum because she repeated she didn't need them – and she didn't _seem_ to need them – but Finnick argued that he didn't need his either and it turned into a huge debate over who was the best swimmer. Peeta didn't look gloomy anymore, Haymitch was treated with a huge hug despite the fact that the boy was dripping wet. When the kid went back to play with the others, Blight discreetly signaled Haymitch he would keep an eye on his sulking niece, so he went in search of Effie.

Without a guide, the house looked ever larger. And that was just the ground floor, he didn't want to imagine what the first floor was like. He managed to find the living-room and, from there, it was mostly an open space that gave into a dining-room and the kitchen. Effie had her back to the room, facing the counter, and was muttering under her breath.

The table was covered with colorful plates, some with little sandwiches and some full of candies. Haymitch was quiet and she wasn't exactly paying attention. She startled when he wrapped his arms around her waist but soon relaxed into his chest.

"You are late." she accused. "Poor show of manners."

He dropped a kiss at the juncture between her neck and her shoulder. "That thing you're wearing? Not helping me keep my hands to myself, sweetheart." Could they even call that a bikini? It was blue, sparkling and not covering much skin. And she was wearing it _really_ well. "You're sure you can wear that with kids around?" He growled in annoyance when he recalled who else was in the pool room and nipped at the spot he had just kissed. "You're going to give Blight and Cinna a boner."

"Cinna is a stylist and I used to work for him. He saw everything there is to see already and I can assure you he is not interested. Beside, Portia would kill him." she chuckled. "As for Blight... I am sure he is a gentleman."

"I'm sure you're too hot for _anyone_ to be a gentleman." he grumbled.

She turned her head to kiss him properly, coiling a hand around his nape. "Why are you wet?"

"Isn't that my line?" he smirked.

Her eyes widened and she batted at his arm, unable to keep the laughter out of her voice. "Shocking!" She turned and wrapped her arms around his neck, inspecting the front of his damp shirt while she was at it. "One of the kids hugged you, didn't they?"

"Your kid." he snorted. "He's a hugger."

"Yes, he _is_." she hummed with a fond smile. "You should take this off. You brought your swimming suit, didn't you?"

He averted his eyes. "I'm not going in that pool if I don't have to."

"Why?" she frowned. "You _do_ know how to swim, yes?"

He rolled his eyes. "I was in special ops, sweetheart, that's basically a requirement."

"Then why would you..." she insisted, obviously confused.

"I have scars that aren't so pretty." he cut her off. "I think the kids could do without seeing them. I don't want a repeat of the awkward fifteen minutes long conversation with Katniss about them."

Chaff had his stump, he had a particularly ugly scar running down his right side from where he had almost been gutted. It was still swollen after all those years, still angry looking and definitely not kid friendly. And that was without mentioning all the other smaller but no less ugly white lines marring his chest. Fun memories.

"Oh." Effie breathed out, leaning in to place a soft gentle kiss on his mouth. "I am sorry."

He didn't know if she was sorry about the scars or about bringing them up. He shrugged. "So what are you doing hiding in here?" He looked at the plates covered with food – entirely too many. "You did all that yourself?"

She actually laughed at him. "Please. Do I look like I can cook? That's what catering is for. I do wish they had made an effort on presentation though. I have been trying to arrange everything in a prettier way."

Always the perfectionist.

He sat at the kitchen table and watch her ponder over the terrible decision of choosing to place cucumber sandwiches – he was certain no kid would touch – with the mini-pizzas or on a separate plate entirely. The thing was, she was half naked and gorgeous and he could probably have watched her all day long. He had a good view from where he was sitting.

"You _really_ live here?" he asked, after a few minutes. "'Cause this place..."

"The house is _amazing_ , isn't it?" she beamed before he could finish his thought. "I had it built from scratch. I _love_ it."

He was starting to know her well and her voice was too cheerful, _forced_.

" _Bullshit_." he accused.

"Language." she rebuked him automatically. "It _is_ a little big for one person. I was used to my mansion in Los Angeles, I was afraid a country house would never do. I had not anticipated I wouldn't throw as many parties as I used to."

"How long have you been here?" he asked, curious.

"Oh, a little over two years now..." she answered distractedly, finally deciding the cucumber sandwiches deserved a plate of their own. "I was not planning on staying here full-time at first but... Life does not always turn out like you expect it, I suppose."

"Tell me about it." he snorted.

She placed the two plates on the table and grabbed a piece of cloth forgotten on a chair. It was blue and matching her bikini. She expertly wrapped it around herself making him think the whole swimming suit thing had been for his benefit only.

"Peeta was bummed his father didn't show." he commented. "What's the deal with that?"

"It is a long and complicated story." she sighed. "Dylan is not a bad man, you know. He wanted to be here but Liddy decided he had to open the bakery and so he had to open the bakery."

Liddy was Peeta's mother, he figured.

"And you can't stand Liddy." he clarified. "And she can't stand you. How did you even end up being the kid's godmother? His father was an old boyfriend or something?"

"Not at all." She made a face that indicated _clearly_ that would never had happened in a million year. "Our fathers knew each other quite well and my father is a successful businessman, I was still a big name in the fashion industry at the time and Liddy has always been greedy about money. Peeta was not exactly planned as you figured out. She was forty-four when she had him. By the time she understood she was pregnant it was too late to terminate or I have no doubt she would have done it in a heartbeat. She thought they might at least get something out of it and that having a rich godmother was one step toward it."

He lifted his eyebrows, not exactly surprised. "Nice people."

"Dylan is not so bad." she insisted, looking over her shoulder to make sure they were alone and no one would hear. "I did not take a huge interest at first. I accepted to be his godmother because I had some fond childhood memories with Dylan but that was the extent of my implication in Peeta's first years of life. I sent gifts for his birthday and Christmas or whenever the fancy took but I do not think I was quite what Liddy hoped for. It changed when..."

Her voice trailed off and she went to get herself a glass of water. She offered him one but he declined, watching with a small frown as her hands shook slightly.

"I do _not_ want to say it was neglect." she continued, her voice harsh. "But Liddy did _not_ want him. I can understand to some extent, she already had three children and they were all adults or almost there. Sal was fourteen but he is an independent boy. She didn't want a baby, she didn't take care of him as she ought to, she still doesn't."

"This has to do with the leg?" he asked.

He had been wondering about that, he must admit.

"He was almost three and he was in the bakery's kitchen by himself. She claimed she only left him there for a second to take care of a customer. I do not understand how a three years old can open an oven but I supposed it can happen. He was hungry and he wanted some bread. Something fell, I don't know the particulars, and it burned his calf. They treated it at home, Dylan is used to getting burnt while he works." she explained. "It festered. They took too long to get him to the hospital."

"How do they still have custody?" he scowled.

Although how did _he_ get custody over Katniss? Child services were sloppy in this area. With the mines so close and the cave-ins so regular, there were too many orphans as it was to go around and take more on their hands.

"They claimed they didn't realize how serious it was. They said Peeta didn't complain. That tells you everything you need to know, if you ask me." she hissed, placing the glass down so violently he was surprised it didn't shatter. "At that point, Dylan called me. The hospital here isn't exactly on point and they were talking about amputation, he knew I had contacts and he was hoping I could recommend a doctor. I had Peeta transferred to the best hospital I could find naturaaly, I got him the best doctors, but that wasn't enough to save his leg. Can you believe I had never met him before?" A small smile graced her lips. "When I saw him, I fell in love. I know it sounds..."

"No, I get it." he promised.

When Buttercup had pushed his head out of Katniss' bag and she had shoved the cat back in, he had _known_. Maybe he hadn't realized it at once but he had known the kids was his and biology had nothing to do in the matter.

"Yes." she whispered. "Yes, I believe you do."

"What happened next?" he prompted.

She gave a tiny shrug. "You can imagine that if Liddy wasn't thrilled with a toddler, she was even less thrilled with a toddler who couldn't walk anymore. And the hospital bills were heavy, she wasn't thrilled by that either. I took care of it. I took care of giving him the best medical care I could find. Dylan wouldn't have let me, I think, but Liddy was only too happy to take whatever money I wanted to give. I did not care as long as I could spend time with Peeta, he was such an amazing child even then. I wrote them checks. Not all of them went to Peeta." She leaned back against the counter, keeping her eyes riveted to the floor. "I wasn't in a great place myself at the time. I was growing old, my career was quickly going down the drain, I was doing too much partying and things I am not exactly proud of that always ended up on the front of gossip magazines..."

"That's a good point to say I've _no idea_ who you are?" he joked.

"That is _not_ actually a bad thing." she declared, crossing the short distance between them to sit on his lap. Another thing he would probably have denied anyone else because they weren't sixteen and it was ridiculous. He brushed her hair out of her face. It was loose today and he loved it like that, all curls. Their eyes locked. "Peeta gave me a purpose. I wanted to move closer to him because it was so obvious Dylan was completely under Liddy's thumb and Liddy couldn't care less about the boy. He _needed_ me and... It was time for a change anyway. Cinna and Portia were tired of working for big names who never looked at their work. They are _my best friends_ , the best friends anyone could ask for. We all moved here, opened a store, designed our own clothes, launched our own brand which works tolerably well for a small town... And I suppose you know the rest."

"Peeta's scared his mother won't let you see him anymore." he told her.

She pursed her lips with annoyance. "Yes, she sometimes remembers she is his mother and resents me taking such an important place in his life. I would sympathize and keep my distances if she wasn't so... She would _never_ hit him, not with me keeping such a close watch. But she _screams_ at him, she becomes hysterical and she is _mean_. She is _not_ a good mother, Haymitch. I am not trying to steal her child. She is just not a good mother to Peeta and I want to protect him."

He wondered if that woman had actually called her that to her face. _Child stealer._

She shook her head. "She threatens me all the time but won't do anything anyway. She hates me but she loves my money."

"And his dad just lets his wife do what she wants?" he frowned.

"He is not a very brave man." She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. "He loves Peeta though. But in an aloof way. He wasn't ready to be a father again either. I have seen them with their three older boys, you know, and they are so different... I don't know what Peeta did to deserve less than their love. He is _such_ a good boy..."

"He's great." Haymitch offered. "You did a good job." She hummed in a dismissive way, not willing to take credit where it was due. He tilted her chin up. "You did a good job, sweetheart." He brushed his lips against hers.

"That stubble itches." she teased. "Don't you ever shave?"

"I'll scratch that itch for you." he smirked.

She chuckled. "That was _terrible_. Your innuendoes need some work."

"I'm the king of innuendoes." he protested.

Someone cleared their throat and they startled guiltily. Portia stood there, wrapped in a white towel with an amused smile on her lips.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, mainly because I know how long it's been since Effie got laid, but your kid just tried to drown Marvel, Haymitch." the stylist declared.

" _Portia_." Effie snapped.

"What's Marvel?" he frowned. It wasn't like Katniss to push an animal in the pool. And he hadn't known Effie had any pet.

"Marvel is a boy." Effie sighed, getting off his lap to go back to arranging plates. " _Not_ the nicest but you should see _his mother_. Her name is Cashmere. Weird family if you ask me. They all have odd names."

Still…

It seemed extreme to try to drown a boy for _that_.

* * *

 _To be continued... What did Marvel do? :p If you're interested I put a picture of the house that inspired me for Effie's on the tumblr post. Peeta's backstory is unlocked! Let me know what you think!_


	8. Chapter 8

_**8**_

Katniss wasn't a happy camper. She was sitting on one of the white chairs, wrapped in a white towel and very much glaring at everyone. There was a little boy very busy getting comforted by Cinna. It was a tantrum, Haymitch mused. The kid was giving Katniss a pointed glance every five seconds and wailing harder afterward. Johanna was sitting on the floor next to his niece, a sneer on her face. She was still dressed and she was keeping away from the pool so he figured she had yet to move past her water phobia.

"What did you do?" Haymitch sighed.

"He made fun of Peeta." Katniss replied calmly, as if it _absolutely_ made sense to drown a boy just because he had mocked her friend.

"That's not a reason for..." he started but was cut off by Jo who clearly didn't care enough to let adults finish their sentences.

"He made fun of _his leg_." Johanna clarified, almost challenging. Katniss was looking at him in a similar fashion.

His eyes darted from one girl to the other and then he sighed. "Fine."

That was apparently the good reaction because the two kids looked at each other and nodded. "I'm done swimming. Take them off." Katniss declared, waving her arms so he could slid the water wings off.

"Don't go near the pool without them." he warned, before going in search of Peeta. It seemed Cinna was done comforting Marvel but there was another drama happening in the water. Finnick, Annie and Mags were all surrounding Peeta who was angrily wiping his eyes every two seconds and arguing – Haymitch could hear him from afar – that it was just water from the pool and that he _wasn't_ crying. He crouched next to the edge. "What happened?"

For a kid without a leg, Peeta was good at moving in the pool. He was near the edge in seconds, lifting his arms so Haymitch could pick him up, which he did as much out of reflex as because when he lifted his arms, the water wings weren't keeping him afloat and his head dropped underwater.

"I got him." he assured Mags. He walked away from the pool and toward the table with the towels. "So what happened?" he asked again once he had placed him on one of the white chairs, had taken the water wings away and had wrapped him in a towel.

"I want to go get dressed." Peeta replied. "Can you carry me, please?"

"You don't want to swim anymore?" Haymitch frowned. "You were having fun in the pool..." Peeta remained silent but he didn't miss the way the boy rearranged the towel so his stump was hidden. Haymitch shot the Marvel kid an annoyed glance. "Look, kid, he's just a nasty boy and you can't let him spoil the party for you. I don't know what he said but it was probably stupid. I don't care about your leg. Katniss doesn't care about your leg. Finnick, Annie and Jo don't care about your leg. People who care about that or make fun of you because of it are stupid people and I don't want you to listen to them."

"Mommy cares about my leg." Peeta mumbled.

"Proves my point." Haymitch muttered. "Anyway, you shouldn't have to pass on the pool just 'cause there are idiotic people in the world or you will never do anything. I'm gonna tell you a secret, there are idiots _everywhere_. It's a plague."

Peeta giggled and glanced at the pool. Finnick and Annie were getting out and joining Katniss and Johanna. It was obvious the other kids had been invited by courtesy rather than a real interest because they were playing by themselves. The two groups were obvious.

"I want to go play with the others." the boy said, biting his bottom lip. "I need my leg."

"Okay." Haymitch granted easily. "Let's go find your aunt."

He made sure the kid was a little dryer before picking him up again, even though his shirt and some parts of his pants were soaked – there was nothing to do for it. Peeta pointed at his favorite rooms on the way to the kitchen.

"Are you my Auntie's boyfriend now?" the boy asked as they were reaching the living-room. He almost tripped on the brown carpet. Peeta didn't falter. "I heard her talking to Portia on the phone."

Haymitch hesitated, not sure how much Effie wanted her godson to know and a little too aware that whatever Peeta knew, Katniss would know in a matter of minutes. He could always answer that it was a grown-up thing but he didn't really believe in giving that line to children who were naturally curious. "Would it bother you if I was?"

Peeta chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Can I still marry Katniss if you marry Auntie Effie?"

"Nobody's marrying Katniss." he retorted before he could stop himself.

"Why?" Peeta frowned. "I have a ring and everything. I will give her after the party 'cause she won't like it if I ask her in front of everyone."

The boy knew his niece so well it was uncanny. "So you're asking me permission to marry my girl?"

Peeta's frown deepened. "No, I'm asking _Katniss_."

Of course, nobody wanted his opinion on the matter. Why did he even bother? "You're a bit young to get married."

"But I love her." Peeta argued. "And she loves me. And you didn't say, can I still marry her if you marry Auntie Effie?"

"I'm not marrying Effie." he told the boy.

"But you're her _boyfriend_. Boyfriends and girlfriends have to get married." the boy argued.

Haymitch was relieved to see the kitchen was in sight, less relieved to notice Effie wasn't.

"Some people never get married." he pointed out.

"That's sad." Peeta declared. "And you _have_ to get married 'cause I want to see Auntie in a princess dress. I'll help you choose the ring. The one I got for Katniss is pretty. Oh, and we can get her a crown too!"

"Who is getting a crown?" Effie frowned, walking back in the kitchen with her arms full of orange juice bottles.

"You, when we get married apparently." Haymitch snorted.

Effie didn't miss a beat. "If that is a proposal, you will have to do better."

"But can I still marry Katniss if you get married?" Peeta asked for the third time.

"Of course you can marry Katniss, darling." Effie answered, placing the bottles down on the counter. "But Haymitch and I are _not_ getting married. Where did you _ever_ get that idea?"

The boy propped his arm on Haymitch shoulder and twisted to follow his aunt as she moved around the room. "I heard you talking to Portia on the phone."

Effie winced.

"Planned our wedding already, Princess?" Haymitch mocked. A huge part of him wanted to freak out. His reason kept telling him this was nothing but the imagination of a five years old.

"Absolutely not." she hissed. "We were _simply_ joking and, you, young man, _shouldn't_ be listening to private discussions. It is rude and does not at all befit a gentleman."

Peeta didn't look like he understood half the words. Haymitch could sympathize. The boy shook his head. "So if I marry Katniss, Haymitch is my uncle, right? And if Auntie Effie marries Haymitch, he is my uncle too..."

"That' is correct but we would all be related through marriage so it does not count. We can still all marry in either case." Effie explained. " _Not_ that Haymitch and I have _any_ plans of getting married."

She shot him an apologetic look and he gave her a half-shrug. There was no harm done. He understood she wasn't the one who was already dreaming of a big wedding. It was the kid.

"But I want Haymitch to be my uncle." Peeta argued and maybe they had been missing the point all along. "'Cause Auntie is like my mommy and Haymitch is like Katniss' daddy and if you get married he can be like my daddy and you can be like Katniss' mommy. But I'm not really Katniss' brother so I still get to marry her."

Effie blinked, Haymitch stared.

"Oh, _no_! You're taking this one." he protested when she looked at him.

It seemed Effie was at a loss about how to really answer that because she eluded the problem by taking Peeta off his hands and disappearing upstairs to get him dressed.

The rest of the party thankfully went without a hitch. No more murder attempts. At some point a toy ring with a small white plastic pearl did appear on Katniss' finger and, when he asked, she informed him Peeta had proposed but she wasn't sure yet because _maybe_ Gale would ask her too and she didn't know who to choose. He hoped she hadn't told the boy that – although he was afraid that, given her usual bluntness, it was exactly how it had happened.

Blight and Mags were the first to go with their kids, exhausted from having spent the day in the pool. Then came the ballet of what Effie privately dubbed for him "the Careers", which meant businessmen and businesswomen who were definitely just as snobbish as she was but not as nice. He wasn't sorry to see Marvel and his cousin Glimmer go.

Once there was only Katniss and Peeta left, Cinna and Portia took their leave with many teasing comments and a lot of winks in Effie's direction. She was red to the root of her hair by the time she finally closed the front door on them.

"Crimson is a good look on you." he taunted.

That warranted him a glare and a warning that there were five bedrooms in the house and that she didn't have to share hers if she didn't want to. That made him shut up.

He was a little afraid the kids would find him sleeping over too suspicious but they were oblivious, lost to their own world and their own games. The party had tired them out, which was a good thing because Haymitch couldn't keep his hands to himself when Effie was walking around, wearing next to nothing, and he was out of excuses to brush against her. He was relieved when Katniss fell asleep on the living-room's couch. By the time he had carried her to the cot in Peeta's bedroom – a special cot for sleepovers, Haymitch was informed by the boy – Effie had her arms full of a sleepy little boy too.

It felt strangely domestic to get the kids ready for bed, make sure they had their favorite toys nearby, that they were tucked in...

"I believe I promised to introduce you to the hot tub." she grinned, once they were back downstairs.

"You also promised clothes wouldn't be involved, sweetheart." he reminded her.

"I _did_ , didn't I?" she hummed, reaching behind her neck to unknot the blue sarong.

The cloth fell to the floor in a shimmering flow of fabric.

Haymitch couldn't keep his eyes off her but he resisted the temptation to _touch_ just yet. He could read the same hunger in her eyes that was probably shining in his. She led the way to the pool room and he followed, enticed by the light swinging of her hips.

"You think the kids will be okay?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder with some guilt. He wasn't used to leaving Katniss to deal on her own.

"They are worn out. They will sleep until morning." she answered, slipping her hand in his.

"Katniss has nightmares sometimes. What if she wakes up? I don't want her to think I abandoned her." he insisted, not so much glancing as _staring_ over his shoulder now. "She has separation issues."

" It seems she is not the only one." Effie teased, unlocking the door to the pool and switching the lamps on. The lights were soft and the water tossed changing shadows on the wall. It was soothing. "Honestly, she will be fine. Peeta is with her and if she calls we will hear." He was still looking at the dark corridor when she cupped his cheek and brought his gaze back on her. "Haymitch. You have a child now. She will always be here, asleep somewhere. She is sleeping, she is fine. She won't know what we are doing."

 _That_ hadn't actually occurred to him but now that he was thinking about it... Was it the responsible thing to do to sneak out to have sex when your kid was asleep somewhere in the house? How did couples juggle the parenting thing with the sex thing?

He was unconvinced and she could probably tell because she sighed with some disappointment but no irritation. "Do you want to go back upstairs? I can get a guestroom ready for you. I would offer to share my bed but, as Portia so kindly informed you, it _has_ been some time and I am afraid I do not have enough restrain to have a handsome man in my bed and do nothing about it."

She wasn't looking at him.

He brushed his fingertips along the line of her jaw.

"Handsome?" he mocked.

" _In spite_ of the stubble and the shabby look." she amended.

He snorted at that but couldn't quite bring himself to accept her proposition. He was being ridiculous and overprotective. Katniss was safe and sound, she didn't need him at the moment. Effie, on the other hand, was right in front of him and he could tell, at the ways she was awkwardly shuffling from one foot to the other, that _she_ needed him.

He kissed her, simply because he could. There was nothing hesitant in it and it quickly grew heated. He backed her up toward the tub, needing a flat surface to pin her to because… Her fingers deftly worked on the buttons of his shirt, almost impatient. Her palms ran on his chest once she had it open and she drew back a little. He tried not to notice her staring when she pushed the shirt off his shoulders but it was difficult to ignore.

"Not so handsome anymore, right?" he taunted.

He had never really been self-conscious about the scars before, one-night-stands didn't care. As for Katniss, when she had glimpsed them she had more been concerned about why anyone would hurt him than about the unaesthetic aspect of them.

The biggest one was on the right side of his stomach. It had been hastily stitched up on the field and it had remained swollen and pale on his tanned skin. He avoided looking at it because every time he did, he remembered how it felt to hold his own guts in his hands, to stare death in the face and beg for more time he didn't deserve. The other scars weren't as ugly or as loaded with bad memories but they were there, marring his skin, and he could imagine they weren't that appealing to a woman who used to be a model.

"It looks so fresh…" Effie whispered with unmistakable horror. _Of course_ , she would be horrified. What did she know of war and pain? She was born for beauty and laughter. She was so bubbly… She brought the sun everywhere she went. Maybe that was why he was so attracted to her. Maybe he needed that. The colors and the joy that went with Effie Trinket. He felt almost detached when she reached out with trembling fingers. Her hand dropped before making contact again, as if she didn't quite dare _touch_. "Does it still hurt?"

"They're decades old." he shrugged, staring at the wall over her shoulder. "Same op that cost Chaff his hand. Wasn't pretty."

And it wasn't getting him the right mood either.

Thinking about that mission made him crave a drink more than a fuck.

"I _hate_ that you got _hurt_." she breathed out, finally allowing herself to touch him again. He braced himself for pity but there was none of that on her face, just… _anguish_. For him. It took his breath away for a second. Her fingers retraced the length of the old wound almost warily. "It must have been so painful..." She stepped further into his space and he instinctively pushed her back against the side of the tub, trapping her there, his hands gripping her hips. Her hand roamed on his side and her lips brushed against his neck, teasing more than kissing. "I will make you forget." She hummed against his skin and it turned him on in a way he hadn't expected it too. "I will make you forget everything."

His fingers ghosted on her back, quickly finding their way to the straps holding the top of her bikini in place. He didn't ask for permission. He didn't even ask if she was sure she wanted this. They were both trembling with suppressed need.

He didn't completely understand this attraction he felt for her, it was overwhelming and all-encompassing. He couldn't resist it. From the start, he hadn't been able to resist it. He had avoided getting involved with women all his life and now… She would be his downfall, that one. He could see it _so_ clearly… She was either a curse or a miracle but, either way, his life would never be the same again.

They never made it inside the hot tub.

They barely made it to her bedroom.

It was neither slow nor sweet, it was rough and passionate and it ended quicker than he would have liked. They curled up against each other, sweaty and entirely spent, and almost immediately fell into a blissful sleep.

Haymitch wasn't a great sleeper.

He woke up several times during the night, surprised every time to find himself in an unfamiliar environment. It always took a few seconds for the disorientation to pass. The blonde snuggled up against his chest helped a lot.

At some point, he emerged from his slumber to tempting kisses and a hand coaxing him awake. This time, it was slow although never entirely sweet. It was still too new to be lazy but it was _sensual_ , more about discovering what made the other tick than about reaching their peak. They were both covered in sweat by the time they were done, their limbs heavy and tangled in the dirty sheets.

They spent more time kissing in the afterglow than he had ever spent with a woman afterward. They didn't seem to be able to stop. Kissing, touching, _learning_ … It was a little scary how good it was, how good Haymitch _felt_.

And later, after a shared shower that had done nothing to save water, once they were all having breakfast in the kitchen, Peeta and Katniss talking over their bowls of cereals, Effie braiding his niece hair at her request, her cup of coffee forgotten next to his... It felt strangely like what he had always imagined a family ought to be, like something he had never experienced himself but had, _maybe_ , secretly dreamed about, something he had stopped hoping for long ago.

The fact that it might be within his grasp was almost dizzying – _humbling_ , because it wasn't something he would ever take for granted. He knew only too well how fragile families were. How _precious_.

The rest of the day retained some dream like quality.

They spent most of it at Effie's, the kids playing or watching Disney movies while Haymitch and Effie stole kisses and touches every time they could get away with it without the children noticing – making out like teenagers in the kitchen under the pretence of getting lunch ready when the kids watched _Ratatouille_ in the living-room, for instance. It felt a bit surreal. Even once they came back home, it still felt too good to be true.

Katniss kept shooting him weird glances.

Probably because he hadn't stopped smirking all day.

Probably also because, at that point, it wasn't as much a smirk as a genuine smile.

Even when Chaff showed up late that night, even knowing it would mean endless hours of teasing, he couldn't shake it off his lips.

"You're back." his friend said, ruffling Katniss' hair. "I stopped by yesterday and you were out."

"We had a sleepover at Peeta's auntie." the girl announced before Haymitch could stop her.

Chaff's eyebrows shot up. "Really? _Both_ of you?"

Katniss nodded, clearly not understanding why Chaff started chortling like a mad man. Haymitch muttered an invitation to stay for dinner that was wordlessly accepted and his friend had the decency to keep the teasing to a minimum in front of the girl. It changed as soon as he had tucked her in bed.

Haymitch walked back in the kitchen, spared an annoyed glance for the two glasses of milk Chaff had poured them, regretting the time they could freely share whiskey, and rolled his eyes. "Go for it."

"I don't know what you mean." his friend taunted.

"Cut the crap." Haymitch sighed. "Do your worst."

"Fine, I'll bite." Chaff grinned. "How was the _sleepover_?" He had every intention of telling his friend to _fuck off_ once and for all but the memory of the previous night – and morning – left him smiling again – which, unfortunately, made Chaff cackle with unabashed amusement. " _That_ good ? Must be a tiger in the sack, that one."

" _Careful_." Haymitch growled, irritated for no good reason. It wasn't the worst either of them had ever said about a woman.

"Sorry, man. Didn't mean to insult your girl." his friend snorted, his dark eyes dancing with mirth. There was a small bout of silence. Chaff was waiting for him to deny her the title. When he didn't say anything, his friend's eyebrows shot up again and he let out a long whistle. "We're serious about her, aren't we?"

Haymitch licked his lips and shrugged. He wasn't good at thinking _serious_ , he wasn't good at projecting himself in the future, he had refused himself the possibility for too long, but with _her_...

"She's different." he declared. "And..." And _feisty_ and _smart_ and _maddening_ and _caring_ and _irritating_ and _batshit crazy_ and _impossible_ and _bossy_ and _sexy_ and _brave_ and _independent_ and too many other things properly to list. "She's _different_." he repeated. "And I think that's good."

He hoped it would be, at least.

* * *

 _They did the naaaaaughty... And I think Haymitch is kind of in too deep don't you think? ;)_


	9. Chapter 9

**9.**

"I took the day off." Effie announced the Monday following the party and subsequent sleepover. Katniss and Peeta had just run to the school's gate. "Portia and Cinna will mind the shop. I was wondering..."

"Yeah." he agreed at once.

She flashed him a blinding smile and he smirked, not even protesting when she slipped her hand into his like they were teenagers instead of grown adults. The walk to her car felt endless, the drive was worse even though it barely lasted more than five minutes. His hand remained possessively on her thigh during the whole time, his little finger inching further under her skirt every few minutes. She was flustered by the time they finally reached his house.

They almost didn't make it past the front door. He pinned her against the hard wood, bundling her skirt around her hips and dropping his pants right there. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding on to his shoulders, and urged him to forget about any foreplay.

The whole thing was so ridiculous, this _need_ for the other was so ridiculous, that they both started laughing halfway through.

It was still good. Better than good even.

He decided she looked at her best when she was recovering from a blissful orgasm, her cheeks flushed and her hair in disarray, her blue eyes sparkling with pleasure. He dragged her to his bed and peeled her clothes off her body, nowhere near ready for a round two but determined to get her to that place of utter abandon again.

A panting, wriggling and begging Effie coming apart under his mouth wasn't too bad either.

"I am keeping you." she hummed afterward, burrowing against his side. She looked like a ragdoll. "You are entirely too good at this. I _am_ keeping you."

"Good to know I pass the test, sweetheart." he snorted. "Take a nap. You'll need the energy later."

Her grin was soft and sleepy but clearly amused. "I will hold you to that."

She fell asleep quickly and Haymitch drifted off, not intending to actually sleep until he found himself in the throes of a nightmare. Everything was blurry, he was only conscious of being attacked and when he finally managed to open his eyes, he realized he had her pinned under him to the mattress, his hands wrapped around her throat. She was struggling to get free.

He jumped back and away from the bed, his hands badly shaking.

She coughed and sat up, rubbing at the sore skin of her throat.

He wanted to apologize but he couldn't find the words. How did you apologize for almost killing someone in your sleep? It was lucky he had gotten rid of the knife the second Katniss had put a foot in his house. God, Katniss... It could have been _the_ _kid_ , she crept in his bed often enough after one of her own nightmares...

He had been doing good on that front, considering. His sleep pattern was still abysmal and he still had bad dreams but they were manageable, he usually woke up before it got _that_ bad. His body had grown used to sharing the space with a tiny human. He didn't know why Effie would be any different. He didn't know why... And if _Effie_ wasn't safe, it meant _Katniss_ wasn't safe and really what had he been _thinking_ all along? Pretending he could have a normal life when...

"When you said PTSD I didn't quite expect that." Effie whispered softly, after clearing her throat a few times. "I suppose it was my fault. You were having a nightmare, I tried to shake you awake. I... Perhaps that wasn't the cleverest idea on retrospect."

He shook his head. " _Never_ shake me awake." His mind took that as an aggression and he couldn't tell the difference between dream and reality anymore. At least that explained that, he figured. But... "Are you... Did I..." He let the sentence trail off, at a loss for words.

"I think I'm fine." she said, searching for his eyes. He averted his. "I might have to use a scarf for a few days."

If it was a joke it was a poor one. She was a little shaken but she seemed to hold on quite well. He turned his back on her and grabbed clothes from a nearby drawer, slipping things on at random.

"You should go." he said.

"Why?" she frowned. "It is still early. We have some time before we need to pick up the children."

" _Why_?" he scoffed, disbelieving. "I almost _strangled_ you."

"Keyword being _almost_." she pointed out. "And believe it or not, it is not worse than some of the things I saw in a bedroom. Show business is _not_ a pretty industry."

He scoffed again, running his shaking fingers through his hair and forcing himself to take deep breaths. He was upset and overwhelmed and there was only one way to get himself back on track when it was _that_ bad.

He was contemplating the closest place to get a glass of whiskey when he heard the rustling of sheets. He figured she was leaving but she tiptoed closer and wrapped her arms around him from behind instead.

"I am fine." she whispered. "I _promise_ I am fine. I am not angry either."

"Yeah, well, you _should_ be." he spat.

She pushed up the tee-shirt he had just slipped on and pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades. "You didn't _intend_ to hurt me, Haymitch. It is alright. I understand."

Her tone was soothing and her lips were soft. His racing heart started to slow down as she peppered his back with kisses. He let her take the tee-shirt off, simply lifting his arms to help but otherwise remaining passive. Her hands prompted him to turn around, to face her, and he did so with _shame_.

"I'm fucked up." he murmured, staring at her bare feet. Her toes were painted a vivid shade of red. "I'm a killer. Shouldn't be allowed near a kid. Shouldn't be allowed near you."

She framed his face in her hands, pushing his hair back in the process, and forced him to look at her.

"Take it from someone who never curses, _that_ is utter _bullshit_." she declared.

The word was so out of place in her mouth it almost brought a smile to his lips. It was gone before it even fully bloomed though.

"You don't know me, Effie." he snapped. "You don't know half the things I've done."

"But I know the things you are doing now." she argued. "I know you are a good parent to Katniss. I know you are a good friend. I know you are a good man."

"A good man who killed forty-eight _kids_." he sneered, escaping her hands to turn his back on her once more. "Get dressed and get out."

"Haymitch..." she breathed out.

" _Out_!" he shouted, banging his fist against the wall so loud he heard her gasp in fright.

His nerves were frayed and rattled. He stared at the wall until he was certain she had left the house, then he finished getting dressed, grabbed his keys and his wallet and headed to _Ripper's_ bar. He was barely conscious of what he was doing. The memories were flashing on a loop in his mind, with the painful addition of Effie's bright blue eyes wide with panic as he squeezed her throat.

Ripper never asked questions and despite not having seen him in months, she served him the requested liquor, used to seeing him getting wasted at all times of day. He was deep into his bottle when he remembered Katniss.

He was in time to pick her up at school, even managing to show up five minutes early. Effie was already there. She took one look at him and pushed him back with a hand on his chest, her nose wrinkled in distaste.

The sight of the pink scarf neatly tied around her neck made him want to throw up.

"You are not in any state to take care of your niece." she declared. "Go home. Sober up. I will bring her home with me, you can pick her up later when you don't smell like a distillery. We will talk."

"I don't wanna talk to you." he slurred. "She's _my_ kid you can't just decide I don't get to pick her up from school. You've got _no_ rights."

"You will thank me later." she hissed. "Go _home_."

She was right, of course. And a part of him acknowledged that but he was angry, upset and drunk which was never a good combination.

"Think you can order me around, sweetheart?" he sneered. "Think 'cause I banged you a few times you're the boss of me now? You're not even _that_ good..."

People were starting to give them weird glances and she pursed her lips, tilted her head on the side and shot him a glare that was clearly his last warning.

"Enough." she snapped. "Do whatever you wish but you are not going anywhere near Katniss in this state. She has been through a tragic accident, she should _not_ have to go through a second."

"You're saying I'm going to hurt my own kid?" he scowled.

"I am done discussing this with you." she declared. "I am taking Katniss with me. You can pick her up when you are more yourself."

"So Peeta's not enough? You're going to try and steal _my_ kid now?" he chuckled.

She took a step back, her face reflecting nothing but pain. Then, she shook her head and turned her back on him, walking closer to the school's gate to talk to the teacher in charge. She pointed at him with an extremely fake smile – he figured she was explaining she would be taking care of Katniss with his assent.

And, right now, that didn't seem like such a bad idea.

He didn't want to listen to the kid's prattle, he didn't want to play hunting, he didn't want to take her to the woods and he didn't want to sit down and watch _Brave_ for the hundredth time.

He just wanted to drink until he couldn't think.

So he did just that.

He went back to _Ripper's_ and he drank until he couldn't see straight.

His phone rang several times but he never picked up. It was always Effie's name flashing on the screen and he didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to talk to _anyone_ , really.

At some point, Ripper refused to give him any more and no amount of complaining, threatening or shouting made her comply. After half an hour of sitting on that stool sipping water, his mind started to clear enough for him to realize just how huge a mess he had just created for himself. There were twelve missed calls from Effie on his phone's screen, it was eleven at night, and he was too drunk to figure out what to do.

Ripper called Chaff.

He came to the bar in record time and the first thing he did was slap him on the back of the head with his stump. "What the _fuck_ did you do?"

Haymitch pressed his hands against his face, not even minding the rough treatment.

"I _fucked up_." he muttered. "I _fucked_ _up_."

"What do you mean you _fucked up_ , man?" Chaff frowned. "Where's the girl? What happened?"

"With Effie." he mumbled. His friend obviously relaxed at that piece of news and signaled Ripper to bring more water. "Almost killed her."

"The kid?" Chaff stiffened.

He shook his head, pressing his fists against his eyes, wishing he could stop thinking about it, could stop _seeing_ it. "Effie. Could have been Katniss. Had a nightmare and she tried to wake me and..."

"Should have explained the first rule to her." Chaff scowled. "You know better, Haymitch. You sleep with a woman regularly, you tell her the rules. If you have a bad one, she has to know to get away."

"I'm a _fucking_ idiot thinking this could work." He shook his head. "Can't have Effie. Can't keep Katniss."

"You're being an idiot right now." his friend scorned. "Drink your water. What did you do? Hit her?"

"Strangled her." he admitted quietly. "Could have been Katniss..."

He tried to take a sip of the water but his hands were still shaking so badly he couldn't keep the glass straight.

"No." Chaff countered. "'Cause your kid's clever. She'd have gotten away. Now… How did she take it? She freaked out?"

He shook his head again. "She said she _got_ it, that she wasn't mad."

"Then why are you being a _bloody_ moron about this?" his friend sighed.

"She said I was a good man." he spat, slamming the glass down on the bar so hard water spilled everywhere. From the other end of the counter, Ripper shot him a dark look. " _A good man._ I'm _not_. I'm a _fucking_ killer. I'm a _fucking_..." He shook his head. "Told her to get out, told her to... I showed up at school to get Katniss, she wouldn't let me near her. She's right, too. The kid deserves _better_. Maybe Effie can keep her. Maybe..."

"Do you hear yourself?" Chaff interrupted him. "How much did you have to drink?" Too much. He was wasted. On the slope down from complete drunkenness, yes, but nowhere near sober. "Why did she keep the kid away and why did you let her?"

"'Cause I was drunk." he muttered.

His friend's jaw was clenched and he shook his head in annoyance. "She did the right thing, then."

"She keeps calling." he slurred, shoving his phone in Chaff's hands. "Don't know what to tell her. I can't keep her. I can't..."

"Keep who? The woman or the kid? You're not making any sense." Chaff scoffed. "You need coffee."

Haymitch shook his head. "Need more booze."

"You're not getting any more booze." his friend snapped. "You're going to sober up enough to talk to that woman and we're going to get the girl back. I'll stay at your place tonight. The kid must be confused out of her mind. Forgot that she's scared of being abandoned, already?"

Chaff was angry with him, Haymitch mused through the haze of alcohol. That was a first.

"I'll hurt them." he argued. "I'm dangerous. Can't be near them. Can't..."

"It was an accident. It happens." Chaff said. "You move on."

"You don't get it." Haymitch sneered.

" _I_ _get_ that _you_ have a chance at having a family." his friend retorted. " _I get_ that you've got a shot at being happy, at leaving all that _crap_ behind. _I get_ that you're _not_ going to toss all that away just 'cause it's easier to drown in a bottle than to face your fears. You've got a kid depending on you. You've got that woman who you couldn't stop smiling about yesterday. Stop being a _coward_ and go get your life back."

Even with the liquor muddling his brain, Haymitch could see the reasoning behind that speech.

"She's going to hate me." he confessed. "I said _bad_ things to her."

"Well, then you will have to grovel." Chaff decided. His phone started ringing again, her name flashing on the screen. His friend shot him one look, rolled his eyes and picked up. "No, love, it's Chaff. Yeah, he's alright. We'll be there in a few, when I'm sure he's in a state the girl can see him in."

He hung up and stared at him.

Haymitch could only hung his head in shame. Chaff _never_ lectured him. Chaff was his best friend, his brother in arms and of choice. He couldn't quite bear to see the disappointment in his gaze.

"Come on." his friend said eventually. "Your girls are waiting."

* * *

 _You were betting on drama... you weren't wrong ;) What did you think? And what do you think is going to happen once Chaff gets him to Effie's house? Let me know what you think!_


	10. Chapter 10

**10.**

There was no miracle cure to being drunk.

Chaff had some radical ways of sobering someone up. It consisted of throwing up a lot, drinking water and coffee by the galleons and napping in the car. When Chaff stopped his truck in front of Effie's house, it was bordering on one a.m. Haymitch had a headache but his mind was unfortunately clear. His balance wasn't all there but he shrugged off the hand his friend extended to help.

"Odd place." Chaff commented.

They didn't even have to knock. It was the advantage of having that many bay windows. She could see them from her couch in the living-room. They stare at each other through the glass for several seconds. He tried to judge her mood but her face was blank. She tugged her silk dressing gown tighter around herself and went to open the front door.

"Katniss has been asking for you." she said coldly. "I tried to call."

"You're going to lecture me?" he sneered.

"We said _grovel_ , buddy." Chaff cut in, elbowing him. "Not antagonize her further."

He didn't know how to grovel. He didn't even know how to start apologizing. There were dark bruises on her neck in the shape of his fingers and he didn't know what to do about that either.

"Where's my kid?" he asked.

"In Peeta's room. She cried herself to sleep." Effie snapped. "Take a shower before going to see her. And brush your teeth. You reek."

She turned around and disappeared inside the house in the direction of what he thought to be the kitchen.

He left Chaff to follow her and found his own way to her bedroom and the en-suite bathroom. He was certain there were many more bathrooms in the house but he didn't fancy trying to find another one in that maze. He found towels under the sink and spare toothbrushes in the cupboard so he helped himself to both. His clothes smelled like liquor, sweat and smoke so he didn't put them back on, wandering to the bedroom, pondering the problem. He found a pair of sweatpants and a grey tee-shirt folded on the bed. The sweatpants were too long for him and it made him wonder what sort of giant she had been dating before him – assuming they were _still_ dating – and the tee-shirt was soft, worn out and smelled like her. It was clearly a man size but it was a little tight on him.

"I told your friend he could go." He turned around to find her leaning against the doorframe. "There are enough guest rooms in the house."

It sounded hostile to his ears but her body language wasn't as much angry as hurt. Her arms were folded across her chest, her eyes were looking anywhere but at him and her lips were pursed in a tight line.

"I'm going to go see Katniss." he heard himself say. "Then we'll talk."

"I am not sure I want to talk." she retorted. "And you are nowhere near sober enough to have a serious conversation."

"I'm sober enough." he lied and then because stubborn and pig-headed as he was he could admit he had been acting like a jerk, not only to her but to his niece, he sighed. "I should have picked up the phone when you called."

"Katniss was _inconsolable_." she hissed. "It only grew worse after I dropped Peeta at his parents'. He was upset too if it's of any interest to you. So was I. And _worried_. Because you were _drunk_ when you left and I couldn't _reach_ you and I kept telling Katniss you were alright but for all I knew you could have been _dead in a ditch_ somewhere."

Despite the gravity of the situation, he smirked. "You have a flare for melodrama."

"I am happy to know this is a laughing matter to you." she snapped with a glare that wasn't totally unwarranted and tears in her eyes he hated himself for.

"It's not... Look, sweetheart, I..." he sighed, not knowing where even to start. "You knew I had a problem with alcohol!"

It almost sounded like an accusation. She wrapped her arms more tightly around herself with obvious irritation.

"You _hinted_ at it, you _didn't_ say... I thought you were _sober_." she replied.

"I _am_ sober." he scowled and then rolled his eyes. "Was. _Will be_. Whatever."

She shook her head. "I can understand a relapse but it is not the real problem, is it? You pushed me away. You..."

"I almost _killed_ you." he growled. "Of course, I pushed you away."

"You didn't push me away because of this." she retorted, waving at her throat. "You pushed me away because I _dared_ accuse you of being a good man. You completely lost your..."

"'Cause I'm _not_." he cut her off. "Stop saying I am."

She took a deep breath and then released it.

"You should go see Katniss." she advised. "You can take the blue guest room. It's the first door on the right after Peeta's room."

He didn't try to make a case for himself. He was still too unsettled and she was clearly angry and hurt.

The boy's room wasn't difficult to find, she had left the lights on for the girl's sake, it seemed. Katniss was on the cot specially meant for sleepovers. Peeta's bed was empty. He sat at the edge of the mattress and reached out for the kid's shoulder. She was curled up in a ball and her features were too tensed for her to be asleep. When his hand made contact with her shoulder she bolted, stabbing his arm with something that made him withdraw with a curse.

"So this is you and a pencil against the monsters?" he mocked, rubbing his arm. "See, this is why no one lets you make the plans."

"Uncle Haymitch!" she exclaimed, tossing her arms around his neck in a death grip. The hug was brief, barely enough time for him to breathe her in, then she crawled back against the pillow and stared at him with a scowl that could have rivaled Effie's. "You left me."

"Just had a few things I needed to take care of." he mumbled. "You had fun with Peeta and Effie?"

The scowl deepened. "You _left_ me."

"Of course I didn't leave you." he scoffed. "I'm here, ain't I?"

"But you didn't come at school." she sulked. "And you didn't answer when Effie called you. I wanted to talk to you."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." he sighed, feeling absolutely crushed with guilt. "I guess today wasn't a good day. Made a lot of mistakes."

"Like when I called Peeta a baby?" she asked.

"Yeah, just like that." he admitted.

"I had to apologize for that." she reminded him, wrinkling her nose.

"I apologize." he offered. "I shouldn't have left you with Effie without telling you first."

Katniss pursed her lips with obvious annoyance. "She made me pasta."

"Was it good?" he asked.

"No." she replied with her usual bluntness. "She says she doesn't know how to cook. I said it's okay and she can eat at home and you can cook for her too." Her grey eyes were accusing. "She looks sad. Did you call her a baby?"

"Something like that." he confessed, running a hand over his face. "Try to go to sleep, okay, sweetheart? I will stay until you're asleep."

"But I want to go _home_." Katniss argued in dismay. "I don't have my pajamas and Peeta's are too big and I don't have my Mockingjay and I want my Mockingjay."

"We can't go home right now." he winced. "I don't have the car."

"We'll walk." she declared.

"Well, if Effie's still angry in the morning, yeah, we probably will." he snorted. "Go to sleep."

In the end, he had to tell her Merida's story – a story both of them knew _by heart_ at that point – to get her to sleep. Her hair was parted into two neat braids, he brushed the wayward strands away from her eyes and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

He was still afraid of hurting her, of _failing_ her.

But he couldn't imagine a life without her anymore.

"I'm never leaving you again." he promised in a soft whisper. He didn't even know how he could have entertained the thought. "I'll do better."

He found the blue guest room easily but he didn't stop there. He crept back to her bedroom in the dark corridors. The lights were off in her room and she was in bed but he didn't let that stop him. She wasn't asleep.

He might not have known her for very long but he knew her well enough.

He sat on the side of the bed she wasn't lying on, watching her back.

"I'm tired, Haymitch." she said defensively. "It's too late to argue now."

"I shouldn't have gotten drunk." he admitted. "Didn't touch a drop since Katniss arrived. I want to promise it won't happen again, sweetheart, I _really_ want to, but..."

"Your relapse is really _not_ the issue here." she cut him off. "You said things... I know you were drunk and I shouldn't hold it against you but if you _really_ think those things about me..."

"I don't even remember much of what I said..." he cringed. "If it's about the 'you're not that good' comment..."

"It's about you accusing me of trying to _steal_ Katniss." she snapped. "Do you think that's what I do? Steal children? Do you think that's what I did with Peeta? Rip him away from his family?"

Her voice broke and, despite the fact that he couldn't see her face, he knew she was trying not to cry. With a sigh at the mess he had made, he nudged her shoulder until she rolled on her back. Her head remained turned but he brushed his hand against her cheek, gently forcing her to look at him. Moonlight spilled from the window making it easy for him to study her features.

"Effie, I'm a nasty drunk." he told her seriously. "I always strike where it hurts. And I wanted your feelings to be hurt so you would get away from me." His fingers trailed down her cheek to her throat. The bruises were obvious even in the darkness. "I could have killed you this morning."

"You didn't." she replied. "You _wouldn't_. It was my fault, I should have known better than shaking you like that."

"If that happens again, you get away from me." he muttered. "I'm dangerous."

"That's implying that I will be sleeping in the same bed as you again." she scoffed. "I am not certain I am _good enough_ for that. Apparently – how did you put it, _ah yes_ – banging me a few times doesn't..."

"I'm a stupid man." he cut her off gently. He stretched his legs on the immaculate covers and lied down on his side, watching her. She didn't tell him to get lost so he reached out again and grabbed her hand, his thumb running over her knuckles. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. About everything."

"You _are_ a stupid man." she granted, rolling on her side so they could lie face to face. A smile played on her lips for a second and then it disappeared and she averted her eyes. "I don't mean to tell you how to raise your niece and I certainly don't mean to _steal_ your child but..."

"I don't think that." he frowned. "I told you, I just wanted you to get away from me. I don't think you steal kids. I get what you did for Peeta. He deserves better than his crappy parents. He deserves _you_."

She swallowed with obvious difficulties but kept her eyes away from his.

"Be that as it may." she whispered. "You cannot do what you did today again, Haymitch. You cannot put Katniss through that again. She was terrified from the moment I told her she would be coming with me. She thought you were _gone_. She thought... I don't know how she was told about her family but I think she thought you were _dead_."

He let out a painful breath, rolled on his back and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

"I knew I would screw up." he mumbled. "That kid deserves better than me. I'm a piece of trash."

"You are good with her." Effie countered and when he opened his mouth to object, she lifted a hand. "No, you _are_. Today... Today was just unfortunate."

"I freaked out." he admitted, turning his head to look at her. She was impossibly beautiful and he still didn't quite get what she saw in him. And the bruises around her neck were making his blood boil in the wrong way. He hated himself for having hurt her.

"You were upset from the nightmare and about hurting me, I know." she sighed. "It wasn't entirely your fault and I understand that but..."

"You said I was a good man. It set me off." he mumbled. It was his turn to avoid her eyes. "There are triggers."

For a few seconds she remained silent and then she tentatively placed a hand on his forearm, running her fingers up and down in a soothing gesture. "You mentioned children..."

He shut his eyes tight, willing the dread and terror not to twist his stomach anymore, willing the nausea to pass and the images to leave his head...

"Forty-eight of them. Dead." he answered. "My fault." Her hand stilled on his arm but he forced himself to continue. "I'm not a good man, sweetheart."

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked softly.

Did he want to tell her? _No_. Did she have a right to know if they were serious about trying something? _Yes_. He was a killer, that was the kind of things that should have been out there.

"It's classified, you can't tell _anyone_." he warned her. He shouldn't have been telling her to begin with but he was blaming the liquor for this bout of honesty. He kept his eyes closed though, he didn't want to see. "Not much to say really. It was during that op that cost Chaff his hand..."

"And your scars." she pointed out, her hand moving from his arm to his chest. It rested lightly on his stomach, right over the biggest scar.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Op went to _shit_. We'd been on the ground for a while, trying to get civilians to help us overthrow their government… I was in charge… Then another squad showed up one day I'd left Tactics, took over… They posed as the enemy and bombed a school to make the population turn against the power in place and join the rebels. I should have been in Command, I should have _stopped_ them, I could have pulled rank… _Something_ … But I was on the ground instead and it was a nightmare. We lost a lot of people. Only three of us made it out: me, Chaff and Enobaria. The kids... They bombed the kids right under our nose... Hummingbird Op, they called it. _Bullshit_. The whole thing. _Bullshit_."

She wriggled closer to him and he instinctively grabbed her, drawing her in his arms burying his nose in her hair. He liked her perfume. He had hated it at first because it was musky and expensive and absolutely too fancy but now he liked it. It soothed his nerves.

"I'm not a good man, sweetheart." he murmured, his voice tight with pain. "A good man would have saved those kids."

She cupped his cheek and pressed a light kiss against his lips. "I fail to see how this was your fault. You didn't take the decision..."

"Still couldn't save them. Couldn't save most of my team either." he cut her off. "Should have been in Tactics but Chaff was in trouble so I went on the field. My call. My fault."

"There is a difference between killing and not being able to save someone." she countered softly. "I still think you are a good man." He bristled and she pressed another kiss against his lips. "Hush now. I won't say it again if it upsets you so."

His grey eyes fell on her throat and he pursed his lips tight. "I'm a mess, sweetheart. You should get out of this while you can."

"But I do not _want_ to get out." she objected. "Your behavior today was awful and I _am_ still angry, make no mistakes, but I do _not_ want to get out, Haymitch. This, what we have... I cannot say I expected it or that I was looking for it but I _really_ like you."

He ran his fingers through her hair, watching the curls bounce back into place.

"I can't handle you getting hurt." he finally confessed. "Not on my watch and not by my hands. It's too much."

Getting attached was already foolish. Getting attached only brought pain. He should have known better, he _really_ should have.

"It won't happen again." she insisted, snuggling closer to his side until she could find a comfortable position to sleep in. "Next time I will know what to do."

"You're awfully cool with almost getting strangled." he pointed out.

"Like I said, show business is not a nice place. Trust me you do _not_ want to know what some people in LA are into." she huffed.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her tighter, wishing he could have protected her from those people with weird kinks she had obviously not been that much into. He was still buzzed and he was feeling the weight of the day on his shoulders. It wouldn't be long before he crashed. He pressed a long kiss against her forehead and moved as if to get off the bed. She didn't let him. Her arm tightened its grip on his waist.

"Where are you going?" she frowned.

"To sleep in the guest room." he answered.

"Don't be ridiculous." she scoffed and that was the end of that.

"You just said you were still angry." he argued.

"Which means you are not getting any sex until I am satisfied you learned your lesson, not that I am chasing you away." she retorted.

He relented because she was insistent and he was tired. It was a source of stress to know he would be sleeping next to her and might hurt her again but he needed to trust she would do the clever thing this time or there was no hope for them altogether. They settled down with him spooning her.

"Haymitch..." she whispered and he startled a little because he had been on the verge of slumber. "Please, do not accuse me of stealing children again. That's Liddy's favorite argument... She loves to remind me I cannot have them and thus argues I am using Peeta as a substitute. Sometimes I worry she is right."

"That woman's a bitch and you're better than that." he growled. "Don't listen to people, they're assholes. You love the kid. The kid loves you. That's all that matters."

He included himself in that _assholes_ comment. He had hurled that at her head earlier knowing it would hurt. He wasn't the good man she painted him out to be.

"Still." she breathed out. "Please, next time you are angry with me... Don't use that argument."

He pressed a kiss on her neck, mindful of the bruises. "I promise."

* * *

 _I think Haymitch is in for a lot of groveling XD Did you like it? Hate it? Let me know!_


	11. Chapter 11

**11.**

"Are you _certain_ the children will be alright?" she hissed as he tore her blue blouse off her.

His bedroom was a mess, as it always was, and the blouse ended up on a heap of clothes he had been meaning to drop into the washing machine for days. He hoped she wouldn't notice – or, more likely, wouldn't _care_.

"Chaff won't let anything happen to them." he replied, kissing her neck, happy to notice the bruises had totally faded away now. "But we don't have a lot of time."

Finding time for _them_ had been awfully difficult of late.

It was all his fault, of course. The stunt he had pulled hadn't been without consequences. Aside for the fact he had spent days craving a drink after that night, Katniss was now just as clingy as she had been when she had first arrived. She didn't want to let him out of his sight, she didn't want to go over to Effie's to play with Peeta if he wasn't there and she threw tantrums almost every morning before going to school because she was scared he wouldn't be there to pick her up at the end of the day. It was slowly starting to get better but it had still taken almost half an hour to convince her to go in the woods with only Chaff and Peeta.

And he _owed_ his best friend for taking the kids out of his and Effie's hands, he knew that.

Effie had remained angry for a while after the stunt and Haymitch hadn't trusted himself around her. It had taken a few days for them to go back to that place where everything was lust, banter and maybe even feelings – and _a whole week_ before she consented to let him out of the dog house and back into her good graces enough to let him have sex with her. It had been hard to find moments to escape the kids' watchful eyes. He and Katniss had slept over at her house three times in the last three weeks. He was starting to wonder if spending Saturday nights at her place would be a regular thing. He was also aware that a night a week wouldn't work for him. He wanted her. All the time. He wanted to touch her, he wanted to hold her… He had taken to drop by at her shop if only to steal a few kisses in the back of the building while Cinna and Portia – who were absolutely not fooled by their excuses – took care of customers.

Chaff had taken pity on him and had offered to take the kids for an hour or two before Haymitch died of a severe case of blue balls.

"Stop thinking." Effie purred and pushed him on the bed.

He was too happy to obey.

Afterwards, they allowed themselves a few minutes of cuddling, knowing they would have to get up and get dressed soon. Peeta would get tired very quickly from walking in the woods because of his leg and the stroll would be a short one.

"We are going to the zoo next week-end." she announced, peppering his chest with lazy kisses.

"By _we_ , I take it you mean you, me and the kids, not you and Peeta." he snorted.

She had a habit of making plans for them all without telling him first. She was bossy. He complained a lot about that but he couldn't say he minded it so much all things considered.

"Dylan said he would take him to make up for missing his birthday party." she explained. "Now he cannot find the time. Or Liddy does not want him to find the time. Anyway, enough is enough. I am taking him next week."

He trailed his hand up and down her spine in a soothing motion. She hadn't told him about it and he hadn't wanted to pry but it seemed there was a cold war going on between her and Peeta's parents lately – more than usual, that was.

"Okay." he shrugged.

She beamed at him and started babbling about plans, picnics and schedules… He didn't really listen, trusting her with the general organizational side of things.

They had barely gotten dressed and had been back in the kitchen for less than ten minutes when the door opened and the tapping of little feet echoed through the house. He placed the cup of coffee in front of Effie, grabbed his and sat down.

"Katniss, wait!" Chaff urged after her, worry lacing his voice at the thought the kid could interrupt something she wasn't meant to see.

"In the kitchen!" Haymitch called out, rolling his eyes for Effie's benefits. She simply smiled.

It was only five seconds before Katniss appeared, her grey eyes ranking over him from head to toes to determine that he was still there, still breathing, and seemingly in one piece. She didn't rush to hug him, it wasn't exactly her style, but she did fling her braid over her shoulder with irritation, just as Peeta and Chaff caught up.

"Did you have fun in the wood, darling?" Effie asked.

"Why, yes." Chaff drawled out, his voice taunting. "Did you have fun in the bedroom, love?"

She gaped at his audacity and then narrowed her eyes at him. "Imply as much in front of the children again and I will have your head."

"What were you doing in the bedroom, Auntie?" Peeta asked. "Did you have a playtime with Haymitch?"

Chaff's laughter boomed out and he ruffled the boy's hair. "Something like that, kid. Something like that."

"Oh…" Peeta frowned, his eyes darting from his aunt to Katniss and then up to Chaff, open and trusting. "Is that boyfriend stuff? Do I have to go to the bedroom to have a playtime with Katniss?"

Haymitch choke on a mouthful of coffee.

"I don't want to play in my bedroom." Katniss countered before anyone could say anything. "We said we were showing the dragons to Uncle Chaff."

Peeta beamed at that and ran to the living-room and back with the stuffed dragon he had taken to drag everywhere as of late. He thrust it in the air and Chaff dutifully picked it up and inspected the black mass of soft plushy fabric.

"That's Toothless." Peeta said proudly.

"Nice." his friend answered, handing the stuffed toy back. "What use is a dragon without teeth though?"

"But he _has_ teeth." Katniss sighed with obvious frustration. "We told you!"

"You have to watch the movie!" Peeta insisted with enthusiasm, turning to Effie. "Auntie, do we have time to watch the movie?"

Effie's eyes darted to the clock hanging on the wall that was always ten minutes late and nodded. "I suppose so. But don't force Chaff to watch it. Perhaps he would like some grown-up conversation time."

"With you two making doe eye at each other, I'd rather stick with the kids." Chaff snorted, before frowning slightly and glancing at Haymitch. "If that's okay."

Haymitch frowned too. Chaff had certainly never asked that before.

"Of course, it's okay." Katniss deadpanned, clearly not seeing the problem. "And you can eat with us. Uncle Haymitch is cooking stew. I'll get the dvd. Come on, Peeta."

Peeta followed like a dutifully trained boyfriend, his stuffed toy trailing after him.

"You do not have to give in to them at every turn, you know." Effie offered hesitantly. "They will have you playing with them all day long if you do not set boundaries."

Chaff shrugged. "I don't mind. They're good kids."

Haymitch's frown deepened. "What's with all the walking on eggshells stuff? Since when do you ask if you can stay?"

His best friend shrugged again and then rubbed the back of his neck with his stump. "Things are different now. You've got a family…"

"I'll go check on the children." Effie offered tactfully, rising up to leave the kitchen. She placed a hand on Chaff's shoulder on her way.

"Don't be stupid." Haymitch growled as soon as she was out of earshot. "You're family too. Nothing's changed."

"Look, you've got a good thing here." Chaff sighed. "I would get it if you didn't want me showing up at random times and sticking around for hours…"

"I don't care about that." he scoffed.

"Your girlfriend might." his friend pointed out.

He ignored the odd thrill at that word. On one hand he was still uneasy with it. On the other… he liked the possessive feeling it allowed him.

"Effie doesn't live here." Haymitch insisted. "And she doesn't care. She thinks it's good for Peeta to be around you." He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she might not be so fond of your language but she really thinks it's been good for Peeta to talk to you."

Peeta had developed something akin to hero worship for Chaff. The fact that the man had an amputated limb was an endless fascination for the boy, who had promptly declared that since they were both missing something they ought to be best friends. Haymitch knew, through Effie and a few overheard conversations, that Peeta asked some questions to Chaff about amputations and life in general that he had never asked before but that had clearly been worrying him for a while. They were deep questions for a five years old abut Haymitch assumed losing a leg so young made you grow up faster.

Besides… There was a reason Chaff came and went so often, often at random. The same that had motivated _him_ to seek him out at two a.m. before Katniss had come along. The demons in their heads weren't pretty. They needed a distraction. Someone who understood. Someone who could say _hey, I've been there, I know what it's like, you're not alone_.

"I like the kid." Chaff mumbled, shrugging it off with some embarrassment. "Katniss could have found worse."

"Don't encourage that." Haymitch grumbled, walking around the table to clap his friend's shoulder, hoping it was the end of that nonsense. As far as he was concerned, Chaff was like a brother and that meant special status. He could come and go in his home as he pleased and if Effie had a problem with that… "Katniss won't have a boyfriend. _Ever_."

Chaff's laughter echoed throughout the kitchen, bouncing back on the walls. "Keep telling yourself that, buddy… Keep telling yourself that."

It was a nice evening. Effie and Haymitch were both forced to sit down in the living-room to watch yet another re-run of _How To Train Your Dragon_ with Chaff and the kids – Katniss wasn't as fond of it as Peeta but it was Peeta's latest obsession and, as such, Haymitch had been submitted to the cartoon far too many times.

The kids were busy cheering at their favorite parts and explaining some details to Chaff who nodded as if he completely understood what they were talking about even though it didn't make much sense even to him who had seen the damned thing ten times already. He supposed it made a nice change from _Brave_. Still, the kids were distracted and Chaff was humoring them, so nobody really noticed the arm he had stretched on the back of the couch, around Effie's shoulders, and nobody noticed the thumb that was lazily running up and down her neck either.

He found himself smirking at the whole scene. Katniss and Peeta joyfully cheering when Toothless managed to fly again, Chaff shaking his head and arguing it didn't work that way, Effie leaning more and more into his side as she started to drift off, probably as bored as he was by the re-run and exhausted from their earlier activities…

 _Family_ , he thought.

And he wouldn't have exchanged it for _anything_.

He _would_ have exchanged the trip to the zoo for a quiet day in, though.

The kids had been excited as soon as they were told. Katniss' enthusiasm faced with the prospect of seeing real life bears had lasted as long as it had taken her to realize going to the zoo would involve _a long_ trip in the car.

The week felt endless to Haymitch, mainly because she kept trying to convince him there was no reason _to drive_ there when they had two legs each and could _walk_.

Not only was the drive a difficult topic but the closest zoo was far enough that, to make the most of the day, Effie insisted they left at an ungodly hour.

That was how he and Katniss found themselves in her sport car at five on a Saturday morning.

At least, it partly solved the car trip problem. Katniss fell back asleep before they even reached the end of their street, clutching her Mockingjay to her chest. Peeta had never woken up and was drooling a little on the Toothless stuffed toy he was using as a pillow. Haymitch considered doing the same as the kids but Effie thrust a Starbucks paper cup in his hands and ordered him to keep her company.

Fortunately, aside for the occasional grunt proving he was still awake, she was happy to chat without pausing to ask his opinion on whatever subject she was babbling about.

"It's going to rain." he observed a little after sunrise.

"Nonsense." she replied and cheerfully continued on telling him about that particular customer who always wanted glitter on his outfits.

Thunder boomed as they were still an hour away from the zoo, startling Peeta awake. Katniss mercilessly slept through it.

"We should turn back." Haymitch told Effie, watching the sky. "It's not going to get better."

"We're not going to the zoo?" Peeta asked with a small disappointed pout.

Effie's hands clenched on the wheel and, when she answered, her voice was clipped. " _Of course_ , we are, my darling. It is just a spell, it will pass."

Rain stopped a little before they parked but the sky remained crammed with angry grey clouds. Haymitch was relieved to step out of the car after so long a drive but he still had his doubts about spending the whole day outside. It was cold, it was humid, and the wind was icy.

Effie crouched next to the kids who were too excited to be cold, making sure they were both safely bundled in their coat and scarves and laying out a few ground rules – never leaving their sight, holding out to one of their hands if there was a crowd, and, if they ever got lost, finding someone with a zoo uniform.

The sight, for some reason, tugged at his heartstrings.

For a while, everything went great. The kids had a blast, running around from one exhibition to the next, and they trailed behind, often calling out for them to wait or slow down. The weather didn't improve though, the occasional roar of thunder boomed and Haymitch kept glancing at the sky, waiting for the inevitable downpour to start.

At some point, Effie looped her arm with his and buried her hand in his pocket.

"I am cold." she said by way of an explanation.

He rather thought she liked being huddled against his side.

They stopped at a picnic area around noon and shared the sandwiches Effie had brought. She was chatting happily, pestering the kids with questions about what they had seen and what they preferred. Katniss played along willingly enough, insistent that they needed to go see the bears again before leaving even if they were sleeping, but Peeta remained strangely quiet, his lips locked in a thin line.

After lunch, when they went back to touring of the zoo, Peeta didn't run off ahead with Katniss, he grabbed Effie's hand and walked with them.

"Are you alright, darling?" she frowned. "Are you enjoying your day?"

"Yes." Peeta mumbled.

She and Haymitch exchanged a look. Katniss wandered back before she could insist and dragged him with her to try and spot the red foxes. They remained in front of the huge pen for a while, Effie and Katniss completely lost to their visual hunt for the animals. Katniss was uncannily good at spotting the hiding creatures but Effie was so vocal in her enthusiasm she often spooked them away.

Haymitch shuffled on his feet to fight the cold, not entirely invested in what the zoo had to offer anymore. He was cold, the sky kept flashing with the occasional lighting and the thunder sounded close. It wasn't raining yet but when it would hit, the storm would be bad.

He watched Katniss and Effie wandering further along the pen to find a better observation angle, his niece tugging her by the hem of her coat. Peeta followed at a slower pace, limping badly. Eventually, he completely gave up on catching up with them and leaned against the plastic glass, staring moodily inside the pen.

Haymitch approached him with caution and crouched to be at eye level.

"Your leg hurts?" he asked, trying to sound detached.

He had learned early enough that Peeta hated any hint that his leg could be a bother. The boy desperately wanted to be treated just like anyone else and it was always difficult when there were things his friends could do and he couldn't. Meeting Chaff and seeing him so well adjusted to everyday life helped, it seemed, but Peeta was still five and it was hard for a five years old to be realistic about what he could do or not.

It was not only cold, it was damp, and they had been walking for a while. Of course, the stump would hurt. They should have thought about it. _Effie_ should have thought about it. She was so busy trying to please her godson with the outing, she seemed to have forgotten all about his comfort.

That was Effie in a nutshell. Selfish in her selflessness.

"A little." Peeta admitted, before making a face. "I don't want to go home! If you tell Auntie she will want to go home."

"You can't keep walking on it if it bothers you." Haymitch pointed out. "It will swell."

The boy's lips started wobbling in disappointment. "But we didn't see all the animals yet!"

He sighed. Truth be told, Haymitch thought it would be better to head back now, while the storm was still far away and they still had a chance to pass through. The rest of them were having such a blast with the outing though, he knew there was no point even suggesting it.

"I'll carry you." he offered, thinking if the boy didn't put his weight on the severed joint it would probably help the pain and prevent swelling. Still crouching, he turned around so the boy could get on his shoulders, it would be better than having him in his arms or giving him a piggy ride all afternoon. "Hop on."

Peeta's face lit up in amazement. "Really? Like daddies do?"

Effie, he realized, wasn't strong enough to carry him around on her shoulders and his father obviously couldn't care less. It made his jaw clench in annoyance at those people who didn't love that boy like he deserved to be.

"Yeah." he said, before he could think twice about it. "Like daddies do. Come on."

It wasn't as easy to get there as he had thought it would be and it took him several seconds to find his balance with the kid perched on top of his shoulders. After a few minutes of Peeta gleefully laughing and ordering him around, he felt very much like a horse.

When she spotted the new walking arrangements, Effie's eyes immediately flew to the boy's knee and guilt flashed on her face.

"It's fine for now." Haymitch told her before she could burst in theatrics.

It wasn't _exactly_ fine though. As they wandered on, the foxes remaining invisible, Katniss' scowl deepened and deepened. Haymitch felt the tantrum brewing as surely as the storm overhead. She kept glancing at Peeta who had found it more comfortable to fold his arms on top of Haymitch's head, his chin propped on them, and the glances were becoming darker and darker. He could read the quickly escalating jealousy clearly in her eyes and hoped she would contain it.

For about an hour, her cunning plan seemed to consist in drawing Peeta _away_ from Haymitch by making _him_ jealous. She attached herself to Effie's side, insisting on holding her hand or on her hair being braided again because it was coming loose, talking to her and hugging her leg at random – Katniss wasn't too fond of hugs so Haymitch saw clearly through that ploy. Effie seemed pleasantly surprised and was beaming. Peeta, it seemed, didn't have a jealous nature and couldn't care less, pointing out things to Haymitch and asking about them.

The afternoon was well advanced when Katniss stopped in front of Haymitch and stretched both of her arms in the air.

"My turn." she declared petulantly.

"Peeta's leg hurts him, darling." Effie immediately cut in. "You wouldn't want him to walk on it, now, would you?"

Katniss bit her bottom lip, in deep thoughts.

"But he's _my_ Haymitch." she retorted in the end, with a stomp of her foot.

"Ladies don't stomp their foot, Katniss." Effie chided her.

"I'm not a lady. I am Katniss." the girl sulked in what was clearly a rip-off from _Brave_.

"Look, sweetheart, you borrow Peeta's aunt all the time, right?" Haymitch pointed out. "She braids your hair instead of playing with Peeta. So that's the same thing. Peeta's just borrowing me."

That didn't convince the kid and she kept sulking even though Peeta insisted he was fine to walk now – which neither he nor Effie let him do – so they went back to the bears for Katniss. They called it a day right after that. The children were becoming cranky and it had started to drizzle.

The boy was delighted to be placed back in the car where he grabbed his Toothless and hugged the hell out of the thing. Katniss looked happy to be in a dry place too, even if it implied a long drive back. The heater was a nice bonus in Haymitch's opinion – his back hurt like hell from a whole afternoon of carrying Peeta.

"Did you have a good time?" Effie smiled as she took her seat behind the wheel.

Everything was fine at first. The kids talked and talked, recalling everything they had seen that day with more shouts and laughter than was entirely comfortable for such a small space. Effie took part in the conversation until the drizzle turned into a downpour and a frown remained perpetually glued to her face. Slowly, Peeta and Katniss stopped talking, clutching to their stuffed toys and each other's hands. Visibility wasn't great, she had to squint to see the road and the regular bursts of thunder made the kids jump.

"I…" Effie hesitated after a while. "Do you want to drive?"

She was going slow but the car kept gliding one way and another. She was scared of losing control, he figured.

"Okay." he shrugged, not sure he would manage any better than she was.

She stopped on the side of the road and they switched places. The short run around the hood of the car was enough for them to be drenched. The smell of wet wool made his stomach churn unpleasantly.

With each new rumble of thunder, Katniss made another distressed whine. Peeta tried to reassure her but he looked frightened too. Effie did her best to distract them, asking them questions about the zoo and Disney movies and school and what not.

Haymitch didn't listen to any of it, focused on the unfamiliar car and the stretch of road ahead.

He had been hoping the storm would clear but they weren't that lucky. They were very slow and night fell on them. It was a nightmare. If visibility hadn't been great before, with only the headlights to pierce the rain, it was simply dangerous.

They passed an advert for a motel close by. One look at the white terrified face of his niece in the rear-view mirror was enough for him to make his decision.

"We're stopping for the night." he declared.

Effie seemed to hesitate but in the end nodded, clearly seeing the wisdom in that statement.

They weren't the only one who had been caught in the storm and there were a few people waiting in the motel's lobby. The kids were cranky. Katniss remained glued to his leg, always wary of strangers, and Peeta was firmly wrapped in Effie's arms. It took twenty minutes before they were given a room with two king size beds.

Predictably, the kids jumped on one of the beds as soon as they were in the room.

It took a while to sort out damp clothes from mostly dry ones. The kids' coats and trousers were soaked but the sweaters and undershirts were good to go. They laid everything to dry in the bathroom. The heater was working well for a cheap motel and the temperature was warm enough that they left them in their underwear with their undershirts on. Peeta's fake leg was removed but Effie was relieved to see the stump was just a little swollen, nothing too dire. Without them being prompted to do so, both Katniss and Peeta crawled under the covers of one of the bed.

"Are they sharing?" he asked Effie, low enough that the kids wouldn't hear. "I was going to share with Katniss… Should we let them share?" He wrinkled his nose. "I don't like my kid sleeping with a boy."

Effie's smile was distracted but nevertheless mocking. "I do not think we have to worry about them sharing a bed yet." She gave the kids a glance. "They will be fine. If they want to share, let them. I will go see what I can find to eat, I need to call home anyway. I told Peeta's parents I would bring him back tonight."

He nodded his approval and let her go, relieved not to have to face the storm outside again, even if it was just to run to the reception. He fumbled with the TV remote for a few minutes, eventually finding a channel with cartoons to keep the kids busy while he stepped into the bathroom and tried to shed as much of his soaked clothes as he could. The coat had protected his sweater and long sleeves undershirt but his pants were damp from ankles to knees. He didn't feel comfortable walking around the kids half naked though so he kept them on, taking off his soaked shoes and socks instead.

Effie took a long time to come back. The kids were rubbing their eyes with an increasing frequency. Katniss had long given up on the idea of waiting and had curled up under the covers with her Mockingjay when Effie finally came back, completely drenched, with chattering teeth, her arms full of potato chips packages, chocolate bars and water bottles.

"There was nothing healthy." she explained, dropping everything on the children's bed. They were suddenly far more awake and jumped on the food as if they had forgotten to feed them at noon. Effie walked directly into the bathroom, shedding her coat – that might have been fashionable but had done a bad job at keeping her dry. The fake strained smile on her face also did a bad job at convincing him everything was alright.

Katniss and Peeta were so busy swallowing everything they didn't even notice when he followed her in the bathroom, pushing the door just enough that they would have privacy but could still hear what was happening in the bedroom.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Aside for the fact that I do not have a single dry item of clothing left?" she retorted briskly, unbuttoning her blouse and violently tossing it in the sink. She then sighed, picked it up, wringed it and sighed again.

"Effie." he frowned.

"I am cold, wet, and annoyed." she snapped.

He rolled his eyes, slipped his sweater over his head, did the same with his undershirt, and handed both to her. "Never say I don't do anything for you."

She accepted the clothes with a small but genuine smile and he watched while she stripped completely and put them on. Someone else would have given her privacy but he thought they were a little past that.

"Liddy was _not_ pleased that I wouldn't be bringing him back tonight." she finally admitted in a quiet voice, avoiding his eyes. "But it will be fine. She is just in one of her phases when she remembers she is his mother and... It will be _fine_."

"You don't sound like you think it's going to be fine, sweetheart." he pointed out.

"It will be." she replied, stepping past him to the bedroom, a fake bright smile on her face.

There was no need to put up a show, the children were both asleep. She turned off the TV while he picked up the leftover food and dropped it on a chair. He switched the lights off, kicked off his soaked pants and climbed in bed with her, sparing a thought of regret that it would only be to sleep.

A few shared nights hadn't made them used to sleeping in the same bed yet – and they had never _actually_ shared a bed without anything sexual having taken place before – so there was a moment of awkward shuffling. In the end they settled for spooning.

"If I have a nightmare..." he reminded her.

"I know." she whispered, distracted. She was picking at a loose thread on the pillowcase.

He wanted to say something, to insist she tell him what was bothering her – because it had been going on for a while and he had a feeling the trip to the zoo may have been the icing on the cake as far as Peeta's mother was concerned – but he fought hard to keep his mouth shut. She clearly didn't want to talk about it and probing would only make her defensive and angry. They couldn't afford to fight locked in a room with their kids. Bickering and bantering were one thing – the children didn't even blink anymore when that happened, it rather made them laugh – but actual _fighting_ couldn't happen in front of them.

"You know I'm here, right?" he winced, a little awkward. "I mean... I've got your back, Princess."

"I know." she said again, reaching behind her for his neck. Her hand coiled loosely around his nape and he pressed a kiss on the top of her head, not trusting himself to seek her lips right then – _not_ with the kids right there. "Thank you. And thank you for coming with us today."

"Katniss had fun." he shrugged.

"I like spending time with her." she hummed. "She is a great little girl – she certainly won't ever be a lady but she is a great child."

"Yeah, she is." he smirked. "Peeta's a great kid too."

She chuckled and, _finally_ , he felt her relax. "You are his new hero, you know. I swear, he worships you. All I hear at home is _Haymitch_ _this_ and _Haymitch_ _that_." He tried not to feel pleased about it but he couldn't help it. He liked the boy. She entwined their fingers. "It could be _so_ good. The four of us."

There was so much yearning in her voice he wasn't sure how to answer it. How much was part of her concern over Peeta's parents and how much belonged to a longing for something _more_?

"It's already good, sweetheart." he said after a while. "Better than good."

But, like always, he was certain the other shoe would drop.

* * *

 _Did you like the zoo outing? How long do you think before the shoe drops? Let me know what you think!_

 _Also, short update, there won't be a chapter next Sunday because I'm dancing at a charity event and will be away all afternoon. Think of it as a mini hiatus! We'll be back the week after that =)_


	12. Chapter 12

**12.**

The other shoe dropped on the following Monday night.

In the end, Katniss had declared herself happy about the zoo outing even though she never wanted to go again because of the long drive. The animals were all she had been talking about for two days straight and he had been relieved when she had dropped dead asleep against his chest earlier that night. There were days when even hours at school wouldn't tire her enough for him to get some well deserved personal time.

Once he had tucked her in, he settled in the living-room with a book and a cup of tea that would he would have liked better spiced up with something. He was still struggling with that since he had relapsed. The thirst for liquor came and went more or less strongly but… It was still present, no matter how many times he cursed himself for distressing Katniss a few weeks ago.

He had barely read a few lines, trying to focus on the book instead of on his longing for whiskey, when there was frantic round of knocking on the front door. He put the book aside and went to open it with a frown – it was too late for any casual visitor and if it had been Chaff he would have simply come in through the back door.

He didn't really have time to register what was happening before Effie was on him, her arms locked in a death grip around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder. He instinctively hugged her back, nudging the door closed with his foot to prevent the cold air from coming in.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I apologize for coming unannounced." she muttered against his neck. "This is unacceptably rude."

"Don't be stupid." he scoffed. "You can come any time you want." He frowned. "Care to tell me what you're upset about?"

For a second, he thought she would deflect the question. She did that a lot. Rant and complain about useless little things but when it came down to real problems… She was selfless in that way and it was a paradox he sometimes had troubles conceiving: she was so shallow and self-centered at times but every time people she loved needed something she moved heaven and earth for them.

"I am not allowed to see Peeta anymore." she whispered.

"What?" His voice raised without his consent and he immediately shot a wary glance at the stairs. Katniss didn't come trudging down though so he turned his attention back to Effie. "What do you mean _you can't see Peeta anymore_. That's _bullshit_. You pay for the kid's school, for the kid's medical bills… You pay for _everything_. They can't just…"

"Liddy is his mother, she can do anything she wants." she said, her voice strangled with the emotions she was trying to suppress. "She said I overstepped my boundaries, that I grew too comfortable, that…" She took a deep breath. "She doesn't want me to take care of him anymore. I didn't say goodbye, I…"

The sob wasn't exactly surprising but Haymitch was taken aback all the same. He had _never_ seen her cry, not even when she had been so angry and upset with him after the nightmare incident.

"They _can't_ just…" he tried to argue but she shook her head.

"They can do _anything_." she snapped. "If I insist… Peeta is _their_ child not mine, I have no rights. I have _no_ rights…" The arms around his neck loosened their grip. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have come. I did not want to be alone. I…"

"It's alright, I told you." he frowned, brushing her hair away from her face. "You were right to come. Look, I'll talk to them. I…"

"You won't do anything. This is _my_ problem." she cut him off, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "You can't… _We_ can't make it worse for Peeta. Hopefully, Liddy will calm down soon. I will just… I will stay back for a few days and then I will contact Dylan. Yes… Yes, I will do that…"

He couldn't quite tell if the cheer in her voice was fake or due to the optimism she always seemed to muster in every circumstance. He cupped her cheek, trying to erase the smudge make-up but he only made a bigger mess. With a sigh, he drew her against him again and kissed her temple.

"The kid deserves better than them." he insisted. "Lie low for a few days but if it doesn't work… Look, from what I've seen, you're doing most of the caring and you're paying for everything… Maybe it's time to get a lawyer."

"They are his parents, I am _no one_. I have _no_ rights." she retorted. "The money I spend does not mean anything. You cannot _buy_ a child, Haymitch."

"They're unfit." he spat.

"And there is no way to actually prove that without going to court and, even then, it is not a given." she hissed, breaking the hug. "Peeta has been through too much already. He loves them. I won't… I won't do this to him."

He didn't completely agree with that but she was upset and he could tell arguing would lead nowhere except to them fighting and _that_ wouldn't solve anything.

"Let's go to bed." he suggested "Maybe that _bitch_ will rethink tomorrow."

"Language." she chided him with a pathetic sniff. "I cannot… I should go home."

"Don't be stupid." he frowned. "It's late. No reason you can't sleep here."

"Katniss…" she argued.

He buried his hands in his pockets and shrugged, a little ill-at-ease. "She might as well get used to you being around more, right? I mean… Look, a night a week at your place is fun but…" He let the sentence trail off, unsure of how to finish it.

"You want to take a step forward?" she asked. " _Now_?" She shook her head. "You have _the worst_ timing, Haymitch."

"Why do you have to talk about steps and stuff?" He rolled his eyes. "No need to make this complicated. I'm just saying. You can come without calling first. You can spend the night. I don't mind."

Her face softened and, for a second, he was scared she would start crying again. She brushed a hand against his cheek and pressed a kiss at the corner of his lips.

"You are sweet." she whispered.

"Does that win me any point?" he smirked, leaning in to steal a real kiss. He kept it short and mostly innocent. He didn't want her to think he was saying things only to get in her pants – he would have _loved_ to get in her pants but not when she was that upset. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's go to bed."

She borrowed a tee-shirt and fell asleep snuggled against his side. There were worse ways to fall asleep and there were worse ways to wake up than by being coaxed awake with kisses.

"I am leaving." she whispered. "I have to go home and change before opening the shop. I will call you later?"

He mumbled a sleepy assent, turned around, and went back to sleep.

When his alarm clock buzzed, she was long gone and the sheets on her side were cold. He made Katniss' breakfast and fed the cat, all the while pondering the Peeta problem. He didn't find a solution.

It was odd not to see Effie when he dropped Katniss off. The girl lingered with him outside, clearly waiting for her friend, but when the hour grew near and there was no sign of the boy, he told her to go play with Finnick, Jo and Annie inside. He waited a bit longer and, finally, just as the bell rang, a car slid up the pavement, Peeta hopped out and to the gate, in too much of a hurry to notice him.

Haymitch pursed his lips and went straight to Effie's shop.

There was only one customer and Cinna was taking care of him so he made his way to the checkout counter where Portia was arranging some trinkets and accessories. She glanced up when she noticed his approach with something akin to relief in her eyes.

"She's in the back." the stylist told him before he even asked.

He nodded and made his own way there. The back of the shop was a huge room full of boxes overflowing with fabrics, wooden mannequins, tables with a ton of glittering thingy and pins, and a sewing machine. Effie was sitting at one of the tables, tapping the end of a pencil on a sketchbook, her shoulders slouched and her gaze lost in the distance.

He cleared his throat, wondering if he had been right to come. They were on her territory there and he hadn't exactly been invited. "Hey, sweetheart."

Her eyes shot to him, surprised but not unwelcoming. A slow smile found its way to her lips. "Haymitch." She immediately frowned. "Is there a problem? Is it Peeta? Is…"

"Everything's fine." he promised. As far as he could tell anyway. "Just wanted to see how you were holding up."

She blinked and that easy fake smile was back on her lips. "Oh, I am perfectly fine. I am afraid I overreacted last night. Everything will be right as rain in a few days, you will see."

He _did_ see.

A few days didn't make a difference.

She held on for four days and contacted the Mellarks. She was shot down.

He only learned about it because Cinna called him in the middle of the afternoon, more or less ordering him to haul his ass up to her place. He spent two hours there, alternatively trying to comfort her and to convince her to try something _legal_. She wouldn't relent on that point, she didn't want to put Peeta through anything like that. She didn't want Haymitch to make contact either. So he was reduced to holding her while she cried. He quickly decided seeing her cry was similar to watching _Katniss_ cry – it tore at his guts and he _hated_ the feeling of helplessness that went with the sight.

He dragged her back home with him and she had to wait in the car while he picked Katniss up from school. She didn't want to let Peeta see her in case it came back to Liddy's ears. He parked a few streets away just in case.

The boy wasn't faring much better than she was and it was impacting on everyone.

It was confusing to the kids, both Katniss and the rest of their friends. None of them understood why Effie wasn't taking care of Peeta anymore and the boy had been growing more and more sullen with each passing day – not that Haymitch had any direct contact with him. Someone dropped him off on the edge of the clock every morning and one of his brothers picked him up every afternoon. Peeta shot him yearning looks every day but he had never even said hello. Haymitch figured he hadn't dared with one of his brothers there. To be fair, the brothers appeared to be trying to cheer the kid up. The one who came the most regularly always had a pastry for him and always greeted the boy with a smile.

Peeta wasn't smiling back anymore.

When Katniss spotted their car and the woman waiting inside, she frowned and looked up at Haymitch in confusion. Sensing the problem, Effie checked her reflection in the mirror on the inside of the sun visor and stepped out.

"Hello, darling." she greeted her with a bright smile that was as fake as her nails. "Do I get a hug?"

Not the right approach.

Katniss' face closed off. "You're mean."

"Katniss." Haymitch snapped.

"It is alright." Effie immediately tempered, crouching to be at eye level with the girl. The hem of her dress was brushing dust off the pavement but she didn't seem to care. "Why are you angry with me, Katniss?"

"Peeta is sad!" the girl immediately accused. "You left him."

"Is that what he thinks?" she whispered, pain flashing in her blue eyes.

"His mom says you don't love him anymore, that you've found another kid." Katniss hissed. "That you _replaced_ him."

" _That_ is a _lie_." Effie snapped.

The girl scowled. "He says so, he says you love him and you will come but you _never_ come anymore."

"I want to but I can't." she tried to explain. "It is an adult problem. It is complicated."

" _Bullshit_." Katniss spat.

"Hey." Haymitch rebuked her without much heat – given the time she spent around him and Chaff, that wasn't the worst she could have picked up.

"That is a _very_ bad word, Katniss." Effie chided her without batting an eyelash. "You should not say it."

"You're not my mommy." the girl retorted. "You can't tell me what to say."

"Yeah, well, _I'_ m your uncle and I'm saying watch your tone." he warned, grabbing her under the armpits and sitting her on the hood of the car. He held out his hand to Effie and helped her up. "Okay, sweetheart, you want the truth?"

Katniss hesitated, her scowl still stuck to her face, but eventually nodded.

"Haymitch, they are _children_ and…" Effie tried to argue.

"Peeta's mom's a nasty person." Haymitch cut her off. "She doesn't want Effie to see him so she can't see him. You understand?"

Her brow creased into a frown. "But he's sad."

Effie's breath caught in her throat and she turned her head away.

"That's why she's nasty, because she doesn't care about that." he answered.

"But Peeta loves Effie." she insisted. "And he says she loves him."

" _Of course_ I love him." Effie breathed out. She jutted her chin up and forced a smile on her lips, suddenly fussing over Katniss' scarf. "But his mother has her reasons, darling, and she _is_ his mother. Tell me, is he well?"

Katniss stared at her as if she was stupid. "He's _sad."_

Haymitch sighed. "Not helping, sweetheart."

The kid looked confused. "Why can't he go live with Effie?"

"She's not his mom." he shrugged.

"You're not my Daddy and I live with you." the girl pointed out.

"It's different." he winced.

She pondered that for a second and then kicked the hood of the car with her foot. "It's _stupid_."

"On that we all agree, I think." Effie declared. She touched Haymitch's sleeve. "I will call a cab and go home. I do not think…"

"You're coming home with us." he cut her off. "You're upset."

"Haymitch…" she insisted.

"Look, you're either coming home with us or we're going home with you." he said.

" _Your child_ is upset because of me and I would rather not deal with this right now." She lowered her voice and angled her face away but Katniss had the ears of a hunter so it was all very moot. "Please, I…"

"Upset about what?" the girl asked, clearly not sure if she should keep glaring at the woman or not.

"She's sad 'cause she misses Peeta." he answered, not in a habit of lying to his kid if he could help it.

"Are you _done_?" Effie snapped. "You are not making _any_ of this easier and _I swear_ …"

"Well, that's _stupid!_ " Katniss exclaimed. "You're sad because you miss Peeta, he's sad because he misses you. Let's get Peeta and go home and we can watch _Brave_ or Toothless." She paused a second and then eyed Effie. "And I will let you braid my hair 'cause it's all tangled and Uncle Haymitch doesn't know how to brush it." She ran her fingers through her hair to prove her point and they got stuck halfway down.

"Yeah, let's throw some shade at Uncle Haymitch." he grumbled. "One day, I'm going to cut your hair off while you sleep and we'll see who will be complaining." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Watch the cheek, sweetheart."

Effie clicked her tongue. "That is not very ladylike."

Katniss rolled her eyes and hopped from the hood to the pavement. "We're going to get Peeta?"

It took the whole trip home for her to truly understand they _couldn't_ just grab Peeta and it was only when she glimpsed the tears in Effie's eyes – tears the woman did her best to hide behind bright cheerful smiles – that she finally shut up about it.

Katniss was an oblivious person, more often than not she couldn't see what was right in front of her nose, but Effie's distress was hard to miss. The girl ordered Haymitch to make Effie hot cocoa, she settled the woman on the couch, wrapped the blanket they sometimes used in the evening around her knees and finally disappeared upstairs long enough to come back with Buttercup under one arm, her Mockingjay and Lady under the other and a hairbrush and hair ties in her hands. She dropped everything next to Effie – the cat immediately scampered away – put a dvd on, thrust Lady into the woman's arms – a loan, she was clear on that – and climbed on her lap so her hair could be properly taken care of.

Haymitch watched the whole scene with a fond smirk.

All the more so because Effie got stuck watching _Brave_ again. She didn't seem to mind though. She brushed Katniss' hair, braided it, and then held the girl close to her chest – something Katniss wasn't exactly happy about but suffered for a while.

There was an odd tension during dinner, a cloud of sadness that hovered over them all and was still very much present when Katniss went to bed. The girl requested a bedtime story but barely listened to it at all, toying with the Mockingjay in her hands.

"Is it forever?" she asked, at long last.

"What?" he frowned.

"That Peeta can't see Effie." she pouted.

He sighed and brushed the dark tendrils of hair from her face. He didn't want to lie, not even to make it better. "I don't know, sweetheart. I hope not."

She thought about it for a few seconds and then grabbed his sleeve. "If Daddy and Mommy and my Prim come back… I can't see you anymore too?"

"I…" he faltered. "Katniss, you know they're not coming back. I'm sorry, sweetheart, but… They're not. And even if they were… It's two _very_ different situations."

She looked away. "What if someone takes me away?"

"Nobody is going to take you away." he growled, the very thought giving him murdering urges.

"So you're mine forever?" she insisted.

"Forever and ever." he snorted. "We're stuck with each other."

She tugged on his arm and he lied down next to her, waiting until her breathing had evened out and he was certain she was asleep before leaving her room. He didn't like seeing his kid upset any more than he liked seeing Effie sitting on his couch with a vacant look in her eyes.

"Is she asleep?" she asked when she saw him.

"Yeah." he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "This whole thing is pulling a number on her."

"I am sorry." Effie offered, genuinely remorseful.

"Yeah, well…" he shrugged. "Not your fault, right?"

She flashed him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes and stood up, smoothing her green dress mechanically. Her blue eyes were sad when she turned them toward him but her steps were confident. "Would you take me to bed, Haymitch?"

Such a polite way to word this shouldn't have been as hot as it was. He didn't ask if she was sure. She needed this, he figured, needed _him_ – and _that_ made him want to roar with possessiveness and perhaps a little pride.

In an effort to be quiet because of the kid next door, they were also slow and it made the building up all the more rewarding. He fell asleep like a stone.

Which was probably why he had troubles opening his eyes when he heard voices. He opened an eyelid and spotted Katniss at the foot of the bed, wary and scowling. Effie had switched on the lamp and was trying to convince the girl to go back to bed. Katniss had her stuffed toy firmly gripped in her hand and was obviously dead set on not returning to her bedroom.

"She sleeps with me when she has nightmares." he slurred sleepily, taking off the arm that was still around Effie's waist and shuffling to the edge of the mattress so there would be some space in the middle of the bed.

"Right now, it is not a good idea." Effie replied, not departing from her smile but very firm. "Katniss, darling, why don't you go back to your room and one of us will come read you a story…"

"I want Uncle Haymitch." the kid retorted petulantly.

"She can sleep here." Haymitch grumbled. "If you have a problem with that you can take her bed. Or the couch."

He wouldn't let anyone kick his niece out of his room when she needed comfort, not even a woman he may or may not have feelings for.

"Oh, for the love of…" Effie muttered. "Would you wake up properly and realize _why_ she can't get into bed with us right now?"

The whack on his shoulder did the trick. He was naked. So was Effie. And the sheets weren't as clean as they ought to be.

" _Shit_." he breathed out.

" _Language_." She clicked her tongue, her eyes focused on Katniss. "I will make you some warm milk, would you like that?" Clutching the sheets to her chest, she snatched his shirt from the floor and slipped it on without flashing anything – a feat, if anyone had asked Haymitch. "Haymitch will do some cleaning first and then we can all go back to bed."

"It's night." Katniss frowned. "You don't clean at night."

"You do sometimes." Effie denied, not missing a bit. "How would you like some warm milk, then?"

Katniss' grey eyes darted from her to Haymitch and she placed down her Mockingjay very deliberately at the foot of the bed, clearly making a stand. "I'm coming back after."

"Of course, dear." Effie replied, leaving the bed. She smoothed the shirt and ushered the child out of the room, tossing him a pointed look.

Haymitch rolled his eyes but climbed out of bed and made a quick job of putting on some sweatpants and changing the sheets. It didn't take him much more than five minutes. By the time he wandered downstairs to fetch them, Effie was just setting a cup of milk in front of the kid.

"Are you having a sleepover?" Katniss asked, a touch of mistrust in her voice.

Haymitch remained in the shadows of the corridor and leaned against the wall, not keen on dealing with that line of questioning himself. That was a note for the posterity: they should always get dressed once they were done, in fear of being busted by nosy toddlers.

"Oh… Why, yes." Effie hummed, sitting down at the kitchen table, wrapping her hands around her own cup of warm milk. "Is that alright with you, darling? Do you mind if I have sleepovers sometimes?"

Katniss sipped from the cup before shrugging. "I don't mind. Why don't you have pajamas?"

To her credit, Effie didn't even bat an eyelash. "I forgot them."

"Oh…" the girl said. "Uncle Haymitch can give you some. You can't sleep _naked_ , you'll be cold. You should have asked him."

His lips twitched with amusement.

"I will be sure to remember next time." Effie grinned, hiding her smile behind her cup of milk. "Did you have a nightmare?"

As always when she was uncomfortable, Katniss started swinging her legs. "Yes."

"Do you want to tell me what it was about?" Effie probed carefully.

Haymitch leaned in slightly, interested in the answer. Katniss was monosyllabic when it came down to her night terrors. Effie clearly perceived the movement because her eyes darted up at him and right back to the girl.

"I miss my Daddy, my Mommy and my Prim." Katniss mumbled after a couple of minutes. "But I love my Haymitch and I want to stay with him." Her legs swung harder under the chair, sometimes hitting one of the wooden legs and bouncing back. "Is it wrong?"

His heart ached but he didn't quite know what to answer to that. How could he explain that he was grateful to this sister he never knew for the gift she had unwillingly given him? Katniss had revolutionized his life from start to finish. She had given him back a purpose, a reason to get out of bed in the morning and to fight through the day…

"No, it is not." Effie whispered. "I am _very_ sure your mother, your father and your sister would want you to be happy. And I am also _very_ sure they would be glad to see you so happy with Haymitch." Her lips stretched into a smile. "Do you want to hear a secret?"

Katniss tilted her head. "Okay."

"I think you are making Haymitch very happy." she declared in a ridiculous _hush hush_ tone.

"That's not a secret." the girl frowned, then her mind jumped tracks as it was often prone to do. "Finnick knows _everyone_ 's secrets."

"Does he, now?" she hummed.

"Yes." Katniss answered seriously. "He trades them against sugar cubes."

"How peculiar." she commented, her eyes meeting Haymitch's. He stepped out of the shadows, announcing he was done with the cleaning. Katniss rubbed her eyes and held out of her arms to be picked up and carried upstairs. Effie stopped him with a soft touch on his shoulder. "Perhaps I should leave…"

"Why?" he frowned.

"You can have a sleepover with us." Katniss yawned. "Uncle Haymitch will give you pajamas."

He snorted at that and wriggled his eyebrows above Katniss' head. "Yeah, Princess. I'll get you pajamas."

She pursed her lips in disapproval but didn't fight it when Katniss' fingers grabbed a fistful of the shirt she was wearing and dragged her with them. The second he placed the kid down on the bed, she snatched her Mockingjay and made herself at home under the covers, right in the middle.

"Sweatpants or boxers?" he asked Effie, opening a drawer.

"Boxers." she sighed, catching the pair he tossed at her and pulling them on quickly. "If this is to be a regular thing… Would it be alright if I were to leave a couple of night clothes here?"

"Sure." he shrugged, trying to curb down the panic that wanted to rise. It was _practical_ , he told himself. There was a child in the house, certain appearances needed to be maintained.

They climbed into bed on either side of Katniss and it was awkward for a while, right until Katniss buried against his chest like she was used to doing after a nightmare, her Mockingjay safely wrapped in her arms. He tried not to read too much into it when she reached out and grabbed Effie's shirt again, tugging her closer until they were all like a nice human sandwich. He calmed down when Effie's hand found his though.

It was the little things, he figured.

Of course, when three days later Chaff clapped his shoulder while he was feeding the geese, he was a little less _calm –_ little things or not.

"So, a little bird told me _someone_ forgot to bring their pajamas to a sleepover." Chaff mocked with a wide grin. "I'm told it's _silly_."

Haymitch glanced in the direction of the backdoor.

"She's in the kitchen with Katniss." he said. "You might want to speak lower if you don't want to get murdered. She can be _scary_."

"Someone's whipped." his friend chuckled.

"Like hell." he scoffed, only to amend. "She's threatening to cook. I'd like it better if I could _not_ get poisoned tonight."

Chaff didn't seem able to stop laughing. "How _domestic_."

"Shut up." he growled, dumping the rest of the grains in the pen. He kicked the wooden railing and buried his hands in his pockets, debating over talking to his friend about his current problem or not. It would involve teasing probably. Haymitch didn't really like being teased.

"Spit it out, buddy." Chaff said. "What is it?"

He hesitated a little more, glancing at the closed back door. It felt like a betrayal but he still cringed. "She asked if she could leave a couple of things over and I said yes 'cause it seems logical, right?" Chaff's mouth twitched but he kept silent, so Haymitch went on. "Now I've got a drawer full of her clothes, there's a ton of _shit_ on my bathroom sink and she brought her spare hair straightener. What the _fuck_ do you need _a spare_ hair straightener for?"

"The hell if I know." his friend shrugged.

"She's here all the time." Haymitch continued. "And I don't mind, _mostly_. It's just… It's like she's taking over the place completely."

"How's the kid dealing with that?" Chaff frowned.

"Giving me pointed looks I pretend not to see and scowling a lot when Effie tells her off about her manners." he winced. "I guess her house's too big for her and she misses the boy."

"Yeah." his friend sighed. "Any news on that front?"

Haymitch shook his head, not bothering to hide his anger at the whole thing. Chaff would know anyway. He knew him better than most.

"She tried reaching out to the Mellarks again yesterday." he said. "The dad's not the problem, it's the mom. She's on a war path against Effie." He shrugged. "The dad said Effie should just be patient." Haymitch clicked his tongue once in annoyance. "The kid though… He doesn't look good."

"That's a lot of _bullshit_." Chaff scorned. "Look, you remember my friend Seeder? She's a good lawyer. I could give her a call if…"

"She doesn't want Peeta to be dragged in the middle of a custody war." he cut him off. "Last time I tried suggesting it again she screamed _bloody_ murder at me."

They had also ended up doing it against the wall but that was beside the point. She was using him to blow out her anger and her pain and he was alright with it. At least that was a way he could help since she wouldn't let him get involved.

"That's a mess." Chaff commented before lifting his eyebrows at him. "So you're letting her move in 'cause she's miserable? Not sure that's a bright idea."

"Can't kick her out, can I?" he grumbled.

"Question is… Do you want to?" his friend replied.

Haymitch shrugged instead of answering.

It was complicated.

He had been alone for a long time before Katniss, and, after that… He and Katniss had a way to do things, a routine that Effie was disturbing and that they were forced to warp around her, to _include_ her. The shift from two to three wasn't exactly smooth and tensions were rising between them all.

That was the complicated answer.

The easier answer, the answer he wasn't ready to contemplate was: _not really_.

* * *

 _The shoe drooooopped. And a lot happened! What did you think?_


	13. Chapter 13

**13.**

Haymitch knew shit had hit the fan when he spotted Katniss dragging her feet away from the school, Finnick's arm firmly wrapped around her shoulders. Right behind them, Peeta stormed in the opposite direction, completely ignoring Johanna who was arguing with a lot of wild gestures and, frustrated, ending up grabbing him. The boy shoved her and hurried to his brother – which was probably good because that girl would have shoved back, fake leg or not.

Finnick, meanwhile, safely guided Katniss back to Haymitch, Annie trailing behind them uncertainly, glancing back at Johanna and Peeta.

"What happened, now?" Haymitch sighed.

Katniss wordlessly outstretched her arms and he picked her up, letting her cuddle close to his chest. Her hair was loose – which was odd because Effie had secured it in a braid that morning – and he had to brush it away from her face to take a peek. She was crying, silent sobs that ended in barely audible whines. He wiped the tears and the snot away with his sleeve, feeling more and more angry with each passing second.

"Peeta's an idiot." Finnick scowled. "He said she was a monster."

"Peeta's sad." Annie tempered, slipping her hand in Finnick's.

"He was _mean_." the boy insisted. "He jumped on Katniss and he tried to hurt her."

" _What_?" Haymitch barked, making the three kids flinch. He made an effort to calm down and lower his voice. "What do you mean he tried to _hurt_ her?" He peered at the girl more closely but she seemed intent on burying her face in his neck. "Are you hurt, sweetheart?"

"He put his hands around her throat and he pressed like that." Johanna explained, joining them and miming a very vivid strangulation. "It's ok. I pushed him away and I hit him with my bag. Can we come and play at your house?"

He ignored the girl as well as Blight who was supposed to pick up Annie and Finnick at the same time as his own kid and was wondering why the lot of them were remaining cluttered around Katniss. He forced his niece to detach herself from him so he could have a look at her neck. There was no bruising as far as he could see. He probed her throat but she didn't seem in pain just terribly upset.

"Where was the teacher?" Blight asked, once his daughter had explained everything.

"Marvel was crying because he had lost his candy." Finnick declared, rolling his eyes.

"Why _the fuck_ did he do that?" Haymitch growled.

Blight bristled at the language but Jo and Finnick looked nonplussed, Annie was the only one who shot him a disapproving glance.

"He flipped." Jo declared, nodding her head as if it was obvious.

"Jo, you're not helpful." Blight sighed.

"It's because of her hair." Annie piped in. "The braid. He said she stole his aunt. That she's a monster."

"And so he thought it was okay to jump at her throat because he was _jealous_?" Haymitch snarled, cradling Katniss closer. He looked up but the Mellarks were already gone. It was lucky because the boy would have gotten an earful, upset or not.

"I don't think Peeta acts like Peeta anymore." Annie hummed sadly. "He never plays with us now. He's sad all the time."

"He said he hates me." Katniss added before started sobbing in earnest.

It was a real mess.

Convincing Katniss to stop crying, Finnick and Annie to stop hovering and Jo to stop asking if she could tag along for a play-date took entirely too long but he eventually managed to get his niece away from the school.

"Peeta hates me." she mumbled against his neck on the walk home.

"No, he doesn't, sweetheart." he sighed. "He's just angry 'cause he misses his aunt."

And, to be fair, Haymitch was angry too. He knew it wasn't Effie's fault but…

"He doesn't want to marry me anymore." the girl insisted, toying with the plastic ring she hardly ever took off. It was one of her most treasured possessions along with the picture of her family, the huge leather jacket that had belonged to her father and Buttercup.

"It will get better." he promised.

She disappeared upstairs as soon as they reached the house, to get her Mockingjay or to check on Buttercup, he figured. He took the opportunity to call Effie.

" _Hey_." she answered at the third ring. _"I'm just closing the shop. Cinna and Portia left early. Does Katniss like Tai food? There is a brand new restaurant right around the corner and it is the_ latest _rage. I could order some take-out and…"_

He often wondered how she could talk so much and so fast without breathing.

"You can't come tonight." he cut her off.

There was a brief silence. Probably because she had been there so often lately she might as well have officially moved in. _"Oh_. _Naturally_."

"Look…" he sighed.

" _No, I understand, it is perfectly alright_." she answered, a little frosty. " _I will admit I took too many liberties. I invaded your house, didn't I? That was rude and inconsiderate of me and you have been very patient. I…"_

"If you could shut up for five seconds and let me talk…" he growled.

" _Language."_ she rebuked him. _"What if Katniss heard you?"_

"She heard me say worse." he grumbled. "Listen…" He told her about what had happened and finished with a shrug that she had no hope of seeing.

" _I… do not know what to say_." she admitted. " _Are you certain Katniss is alright? Maybe you should take her to see a doctor… And I will call Dylan right away. Someone needs to have a talk with Peeta."_

That would go well, he mused, hanging up after saying goodbye.

It felt odd not having Effie around, he had gotten used to having her in the house.

He and Katniss spent the rest of the afternoon watching _Avengers_ cartoons. He lied down on the couch and the kid made herself at home on his chest. She was crushing him but he didn't really mind. He wanted her close. He checked her throat several times but she insisted she was fine. She was sullen, devastated, and out of spirits but she didn't seem in any physical pain.

It wasn't until she was out of her bath, her hair dripping down her green bathrobe that she tracked him down to the kitchen with a frown. "Where's Effie?"

The girl looked confused and uncertain, her hairbrush tightly clenched in one hand.

"She's not coming today." Haymitch answered.

The frown deepened. "Why?"

"'Cause I thought you would like it better this way?" he asked, uncertain too now. It had seemed logical to him since the fight with Peeta had stemmed from Effie's presence in their home.

"But she needs to help me untangle my hair." Katniss replied flatly. "And where is she going to sleep?"

"She does have a house, remember?" he scoffed.

"But it's big and empty." the girl argued. "She will be sad. She will miss us. Won't she miss us?" A worried scowl appeared on her face. "What if she never comes back? Sometimes people never come back…"

She was thinking about her family and Haymitch found himself sighing, helpless as ever to comfort her. "She's fine, sweetheart." Probably eating her tai food take-out, he didn't say. All alone in her big dining-room in her big empty house with big windows that gave on an equally big garden. "She's _fine_." he repeated. Maybe a little lonely. Maybe a little sad. How had the conversation with Peeta's dad gone? Maybe she was worried too now.

Katniss said nothing, she just stared.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, grab the phone and call her then."

He didn't have to tell Katniss twice. How she could work his phone so quickly and easily when he always fumbled for five minutes, he didn't know but soon enough it was pressed to her ear and she was tapping the hairbrush against the kitchen table impatiently.

"You need to come home." she said, bypassing any greetings. He tried not to pay attention to the discussion, focusing on _not_ burning the chicken nuggets. He didn't know what Effie answered but Katniss sounded positively aggravated. "But my hair is wet and tangled and Uncle Haymitch doesn't know how to do it the right way." Another pause. "But it's _stupid_." She hit the hairbrush against the table harder. "But I want you to come _home_." Her eyebrows furrowed together and she turned toward Haymitch. "She says I'm confused and it's not her home."

Haymitch sighed. "Tell her she's the one who's confused."

"Uncle Haymitch says you're the one who's confused." Katniss repeated dutifully. "Now are you coming home or not? 'Cause there are nuggets and green beans for dinner and you have to hurry because it's ready soon." She rolled her eyes at whatever Effie was saying. "I don't like missing you. _Come home_."

She took the phone off her ear and pushed the button to end the call. Haymitch grabbed it from her hand and sent a quick text. _Move your ass over here, sweetheart_. She wouldn't like it, he suspected.

Then again, it was effective.

Effie showed up fifteen minutes later. The chicken didn't even have time to get cold.

"Your language is dreadful." was the first thing she told him before starting to fuss over Katniss and her wet hair and how he _really_ ought to have dried it before.

The _Peeta problem_ wasn't discussed, Katniss seemed happy to ignore it for now. When Haymitch asked, Effie said Dylan had promised to have a serious talk with his son.

It turned out the next day, Liddy had decided that Peeta couldn't play with Katniss anymore and thus the boy spent his time with Delly, a girl from another class, playing baker. Katniss was jealous, irritated, and annoyed. She asked Haymitch for a play-date with Gale, which he granted easily if only to cheer her up.

It was a disaster.

Gale had nothing nice to say about Peeta and Katniss slammed her bedroom door shut long before Hazelle stopped by to pick up her son. When Effie arrived home, Haymitch was nursing a headache and fighting the urge to drive to the nearest bar. He left the scolding about proper behavior with guests to Effie – and he noticed that since she had no love for the Hawthornes, that scolding was mild.

The following day, Jo put her foot down and demanded that they all had a play-date. Blight chided his daughter but Haymitch didn't see why not and that was how he found himself lost in a sea of five years old running around the yard, bundled in coats and scarves, apparently unable to feel the cold.

Annie was sweet as always but Finnick and Jo were reckless, dragging Katniss into dares and stunts. He watched them from the window over the sink, washing the dishes while he was at it. The kids were chasing each other or the occasional goose.

Effie came home not long after Finnick had stopped running to sit next to Annie, cheering Jo and Katniss who were locked in a race of some sort. She kissed his cheek distractedly and peered out the window, looking a little gloomy.

"Peeta missed his medical appointment. The doctor called me." she announced. "I called Liddy directly and I fear I have made things worse."

"How?" he frowned.

"I told her I would stop sending money if she didn't bring Peeta to his appointments." she whispered. "It's the only thing she understands, so I thought… But she's adamant she doesn't want me anywhere near him and she told me he's now forbidden to talk to you or Katniss. She made it _very_ clear. He's asking after you too, it seems."

Haymitch's jaw clenched with annoyance. "When are we going to actually _do_ something?"

She shook her head and he was startled by the tears shining in her eyes. She was exhausted. When she wasn't working in an attempt at distracting herself, she was _there_ , either taking care of Katniss or cleaning a room or another, claiming it changed her mind and his house was in disarray anyway. She didn't sleep much at night either.

"I don't know what to do… I don't know…" she whispered, blinking fast.

The backdoor opened wide and Katniss rushed in. She took one look at Effie, pursed her lips with irritation, and rushed to the woman, almost climbing her like a tree. Effie picked her up and held her tight.

Katniss' attempts at comforting her were clumsy but touching. The kid petted her blonde hair like he did with her after a nightmare.

"If I marry Peeta, can he come live with us?" she asked, her voice resigned. She didn't _really_ want to marry the boy, he thought. She didn't fancy herself in love with him but she would do it out of a stupid sense of misplaced duty, because she thought it would help her family. She was stupid that way and he loved her for it.

"I am afraid not, darling." Effie chuckled. "But that's a nice thought."

He smirked at them. He smirked until the three other kids rushed in, saw what was going on and promptly declared a climbing game. On _Haymitch_. With Annie and Finnick hanging from each arm and Johanna clinging to his neck, _very much_ strangling him and tugging at his hair, he quickly lost his smirk. Effie's laughter burst forth though and that was a reward in itself.

It took ten minutes to settle everyone at the kitchen table to distribute snacks.

"Who are you going to be at my party?" Jo asked.

"What's that?" Haymitch frowned.

 _That_ turned out to be a costumed party Katniss had agreed to go to without asking him first and nobody was short of ideas as to who they wanted to go as.

"Let me guess…" he sighed. "You want to be Merida."

"No." his niece scowled. "I want to be a Mockingjay."

"That's going to be difficult, sweetheart." Haymitch argued.

"Not so much." Effie cut in, with a grin full of mischief. "Leave it to me."

By _leave it to me_ , she meant _leave it to Cinna_.

He had to hand it to him though, for a guy who wore gold eyeliner, the man was talented. When Effie led Katniss back to the kitchen three days later, Haymitch whistled. The dress was made of real feathers and looked like the descriptions of the fantastic birds Katniss' father had invented for her. It was a masterpiece.

"Nice dress, sweetheart." he approved. Katniss batted her arms to show him the feathered wings. He glanced at Effie who was standing behind the child, her arms folded over her chest, a smug look on her face, and winked. "Not yours."

Effie pursed her lips, tilted her head to the side, and looked him up and down in a disapproving fashion but her amusement was perceptible.

Johanna's party was a success.

The only hitch was Peeta's glaring absence. Blight had tried to convince his mother to let the boy go but to no avail.

All the kids were downcast by what they perceived as a desertion on their friends' part and Haymitch walked more than once on a play-date that had turned into a war council on _how to rescue Peeta_.

And that was the question wasn't it? The question he and Effie pondered until early hours of the morning, the question Chaff and Seeder – who had been consulted after all – tried to solve without much avail, the question, in short, that was making all their lives miserable.

How were they going to rescue Peeta?

* * *

 _Yeah... How do we rescue Peeta? I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know!_

 _Please, note since next Sunday is Christmas there won't be any chapter given that I'm publishing a 7 chapters Christmas story next week. I'm not sure about how we will make it work the Sunday after that yet but I'll keep you posted on my blog ;_


	14. Chapter 14

_**14.**_

Christmas crept on them without Haymitch truly noticing despite Effie's repeated pointed hints and numerous questions as to how he was planning on celebrating the holidays. Katniss seemed as disinterested by the whole thing as he was, regarding the lights lining the houses in the streets and the huge Christmas tree in Effie's shop with curiosity but no real envy.

It would be the first Christmas without her family and Haymitch wasn't sure how to work around that, so he was happy to simply ignore the problem for now. At least until Effie dove right into it, tired of her subtle inquiries being ignored.

"So, darling…" she asked, one night, at dinner, looking straight at his niece. "What do you want to do for the holidays?"

Katniss frowned over her tomato soup, the spoon stopping two inches away from her open mouth. Haymitch could see Effie cringe in horror at the girl's dreadful table manners and smirked. In the end, the kid didn't even answer. She slurped her soup and shrugged. Effie cringed further but didn't let herself get distracted.

"Don't you want a tree?" she insisted. "And maybe some fairy lights to make the house more festive?"

Katniss looked at him uncertainly and he lifted his hands in a helpless gesture, leaving the choice to her.

"Can we have a tree?" the girl asked uncertainly. "Trees are for rich people…"

"Oh, _darling_ …" Effie breathed out.

Haymitch rubbed his eyes, wondering for the first time if he had gotten the situation wrong. He had assumed Katniss simply wasn't into Christmas and he had thought they were _past_ the money question.

"You can have a tree if you want a tree." Haymitch scoffed. "We can get the biggest tree they have."

The girl tilted her head, studying him. "But we can't waste money on that because Prim…" She shut up abruptly and the spoon clattered in the still half-full bowl of soup. "Do I get a tree now because Prim is not here anymore, so we have money?"

"No." Effie answered before he could. "You get a tree because _every_ child deserves to have a wonderful Christmas, Katniss. And you have been very _very_ good this year so I am _certain_ Santa will have lots of presents for you."

"Santa brought me my bow last year." she nodded wisely. "It was nice."

He and Effie exchanged a glance and he had no doubt they were thinking the same thing. They could do better than a plastic bow.

"What would you want Santa to bring you?" he asked, not so subtly.

It didn't matter, Katniss wasn't the most observant person. She picked up her spoon and went back to eating her soup, shrugging once more. "Can he bring back my Daddy, my Mommy and my Prim?"

Effie's eyes were sad but he could tell she had been expecting that answer, he had been too.

"No, sweetheart." he sighed. "That's a little out of his league."

"Can he make it so Peeta's Mommy isn't nasty anymore?" she asked next.

That one, he hadn't quite expected but it was Effie's turn to drop her spoon in her bowl in a way that wasn't quite ladylike.

"Not sure that's his field either." Haymitch winced.

The girl's scowl clearly expressed that she wasn't impressed with Santa Claus' rumored super powers. "Can he make it so we keep Effie forever?"

 _That_ was a bombshell.

"She's not a pet." he said, once he had recovered, after clearing his throat. "It's not like…"

"But I want us to keep Effie forever." she argued, furrowing her eyebrows and tossing Effie a reproachful look. "What if you go to your house again and never come back? I want you to be with us. _Forever_."

"Katniss…" Effie tried but the kid wasn't done.

"I don't like when you're not here even when you're annoying." the girl insisted with a sulk.

"Why, _thank you_. I guess." Effie huffed. "Nevertheless…"

"Okay." Haymitch cut in. "Enough of this. Eat your soup, sweetheart." His eyes darted between the two half empty bowls and he rolled his eyes. "Both of you."

The rest of the meal was spent in a deafening silence. You could have heard a pin drop. He let Effie put Katniss to bed and went for a shower. He had just slipped on sweatpants and was toweling his hair dry when he heard Effie's always loud voice conclude the bedtime story with "and they live happily ever after". He tossed the towel and wandered closer to the girl's bedroom, thinking he would give her the mandatory goodnight kiss, but he paused on the threshold when he glimpsed the not so unwelcomed sight of Effie sitting on the girl's bed, leaning against the headboard, her long legs crossed at the ankles and a closed book of children stories on her lap. Katniss' back was turned to him, she was buried under her duvet, not quite snuggling against Effie – that wasn't the kid's style – but very much pressed against her side.

Haymitch leaned against the doorframe, arm crossed, enjoying the view. Effie's eyes darted to him but Katniss didn't notice his presence.

"Time to sleep now." Effie whispered, brushing the long dark hair away from her face.

"Do you have a mommy and a daddy?" the girl asked.

"Yes." she hummed with a small smile. "Everyone has a mommy and a daddy, sweetie."

The kid adjusted her grip on the Mockingjay, making sure it was neatly tucked under the covers. "Are they nice?"

Effie hesitated. "They are not mean."

"Are they nice like Uncle Haymitch?" the girl insisted.

"No one is nice like Uncle Haymitch." she grinned with a wink in his direction.

He rolled his eyes but smirked at her.

"True." Katniss yawned. "Do you have a Prim?"

"I have a Lyssa." she answered. "She's older than me though."

The girl nodded slowly as if it made perfect sense and then reached out to finger the hem of her dress. "Can I tell you a secret?"

Blue eyes darted to him and back, hesitant, but in the end she smiled. "Of course."

Katniss' legs were moving restlessly under the covers, sign if any that she was either disturbed by something or upset. "Sometimes… Sometimes I can't remember my Daddy or my Mommy or my Prim." The words were rushed out of her mouth in a hasty murmur. "I want to think about my Daddy but when I think about my Daddy he looks like Uncle Haymitch and I can't remember what he looks like so I have to stare really, _really_ hard at the picture not to forget next time but I _always_ forget." The girl reached out and grabbed a fistful of Effie's dress. "Is it bad?"

"No, darling. Of course not." Effie was quick to reassure her, sliding down the bed a little so she could wrap the girl in her arms. Katniss went willingly, which tended to show she was truly upset, leaving Haymitch to wonder just how many things he was missing… He hadn't known Katniss wanted a real Christmas, he hadn't know she was missing her family that much… Effie was looking at him, silently inviting him to cut in but he remained where he was, unsure of what to say to comfort his niece, so she sighed and went on. "You are very little, Katniss…"

"I'm not a baby." the girl scowled. "I'm a big girl."

"Yes, you are." Effie agreed immediately. "And a very brave one too. But as big as you are, you are still little, does it make sense?"

Katniss mulled that over a few seconds. "I'm not big like you or Uncle Haymitch."

"Exactly." she approved. "So you cannot remember as many things as we do."

"But Uncle Haymitch isn't my Daddy and when I think about my Daddy…" Katniss argued.

"Sweetie." Effie interrupted her firmly. "Your uncle has been taking care of you like a daddy takes care of his daughter, that is why you are thinking about him this way."

"But I have a Daddy already." the girl said, her lips wobbling. "Daddy will be mad if Uncle Haymitch takes his place."

"Uncle Haymitch won't take your Daddy's place." Effie promised quietly but firmly enough that Katniss stopped swinging her legs under the covers. "Do you want to know what I think?" The kid didn't look sure but she nodded anyway. "I think… I think some people are unlucky enough to lose their Daddy or Mommy but sometimes they find someone that can be like a second one. They don't replace them, it is more like… an additional one."

"So it's okay if I think about Uncle Haymitch when I think about my Daddy?" Katniss insisted, obviously wanting a clear answer on that point.

"Yes, it is." Effie replied firmly. She met Haymitch's eyes and he forced himself to smile but it was hollow. He hated that his kid was hurting like that. If he could change things…

"And you can be my second Mommy." the girl yawned, placing her head on Effie's lap.

Effie's blue eyes snapped from him to the child. "I… _What_?"

Haymitch should have been shocked by the question but he wasn't, not really. It was logical. Effie had been a fixed feature since almost as long as Katniss had been with him and now she was sleeping over more often than not. Their routine had shifted to include her. She was the one who helped Katniss get dressed almost every morning while he was cooking breakfast, she was the one Katniss ran to when her hair bothered her or when she needed a handkerchief or anything practical Haymitch always forgot, the kid liked when Effie read her stories because Effie did voices better than him and, although it went unvoiced, Katniss felt safer after a nightmare when she was sandwiched between their two bodies.

Effie Trinket had become an integral part of their lives and he had barely seen it coming. She was like those surprise hurricanes you only realized were there once your house was blown away.

"You're like my Mommy now." Katniss insisted. "But I won't call you Auntie because Peeta will try to kill me again."

Effie opened and closed her mouth, obviously not knowing what to dispute first, so Haymitch walked in, making sure to make some noise so the kid wouldn't be startled.

"What are you chatterboxes talking about?" he asked, pretending he hadn't heard the rest. "I thought the story was supposed to put you to sleep?" He flopped down on the bed behind Katniss and poked her in the ribs, prompting a giggle that she swallowed back quickly. "You're not asleep."

"Nope." Katniss shrugged, making the _p_ pop.

"You need another story, then." Haymitch decided, nodding at Effie. "Come on, Princess. Read on." He settled on the bed, wrapping an arm around his niece that looped around Effie's thigh. She pursed her lips but complied, picking the book back up. " _Brave_." he snorted. "Never heard that one…"

"Hush, Haymitch. Katniss is already sarcastic enough as it is, she does _not_ need your bad influence." Effie chided him, before clearing her voice and starting with a _Once upon a time_ …

Katniss was asleep before Merida shot her first arrow but neither he nor Effie moved immediately. He was so focused on watching his kid sleeping that he missed the tears in Effie's eyes. When he did though, he reached out and brushed his hand against her cheek. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Effie's smile was sad. "I love your child so much… But I _do_ miss mine."

She dropped a kiss on Katniss' head and gently extricated herself from her tiny grip. Haymitch followed her out of the room, making sure not to forget to leave the night-light – for Buttercup not for her, as the child always insisted. They wandered downstairs and Haymitch tried to make sense of the sudden tension.

"If things don't work out between us…" she said suddenly. "Will you let me… I would hate for her to think I abandoned her if we ever split up. I _do_ love her…"

"Things are working out pretty well." he frowned, running his hand on the back of the couch. He was nervous and as always when he was nervous, his throat was parched and he felt the deep longing for a drink. "Look, Effie… Maybe the kid's got a point."

"About?" she asked, standing a few feet away from him, slightly ill-at-ease.

"About you moving in?" he hesitated. "You're here more often than not anyway. You're practically _living_ here. So… Let Santa do that for her."

"You want me to move in as a Christmas present for your child?" she clarified flatly.

"Yeah." he said and when he spotted the astonished and almost pained expression on her face, he winced. " _No_." He was making a mess of this. "Well, _yeah_ , I want you _here_. _No_ , not _just_ for Katniss although it _would_ make for an easy Christmas present so…"

Effie studied him for a few seconds and then averted her eyes. "She is very attached to me and I love her dearly but if you are doing this for her…"

"Your stuff is all over my house." he cut her off. "You sleep here almost every night…"

"Yes, but…" she tried to argue.

"You're the only person I trust to distract me when I crave a drink." he went on. "I don't know how to sleep alone anymore. I… You're a pain in my ass and _I like it_. And, yeah, you're great with my kid and I like that too. Katniss loves you, I trust you with her…" He buried his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Look, I'm not saying it will be easy every day but… My life was pretty much upside down when I met you and you kind of put it right, so…" He let the sentence trail off.

She was watching him with a wariness akin to caution. "Is that a convoluted way of saying you have feelings for me?"

He shrugged and looked down, unwilling to confess as much. Love declarations weren't his thing, he wasn't even sure he had it in him.

"You know me." he mumbled. "You know the whole package deal. And you still want me even though I don't get why so…"

"That's not the same as having feelings for me, Haymitch." she replied. "Am I just convenient or…"

" _Convenient_?" he scoffed. "You're the most _inconvenient_ thing that ever happened to me, sweetheart! And I _still_ wouldn't change it. You're… You're…" He stammered to a stop, at a lack for words. "You're a _nutcase_!" She pursed her lips and he chuckled. "You're a nutcase and I love it. You're perfect for me. _To_ me."

She huffed and crossed the distance between them to lock her arms around his neck.

"Couldn't you simply say you love me like anyone else would in this situation?" she asked and then kissed him before he could retort anything to that. Kisses grew heated and before long they were stumbling to his bedroom, barely managing to keep quiet on the way. They didn't quite managed to stay quiet once in the bedroom either but Katniss miraculously remained asleep.

They had learned their lesson though and the first thing Effie did once they were done was grab a handful of clothes for them to slip on. He was sorry to see her naked body go but he didn't mind so much once she snuggled close to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So, when you say you want us to move in together…" she hummed. "You mean you want me to move in your house?"

"Well, you can room with the geese if you want to but I think the house would be more practical." he deadpanned. "I don't think all your clothes would fit in the pen."

She whacked his arm in rebuke. "I mean _I_ should be moving with _you_ in _your_ house."

"Yeah." he shrugged.

"My house is bigger." she pointed out. "Why don't you and Katniss move there?"

"Because your house is a very cold place with no soul?" he snorted.

"It has an indoor pool, a hot tub and all modern comfort." she replied. "Your shower gives me lukewarm water every three days."

"Yeah, I need to fix the boiler." he sighed.

"And… There is no room for Peeta here." she whispered. "We can easily turn one of the guest rooms in my house into a room for Katniss but here… Peeta won't have his room and I need him to have his room. What if he feels left out? What if he thinks I am replacing him with your child? No, that wouldn't work out. He needs…"

She was making a valiant attempt at keeping an even voice, something that wasn't always a given when Peeta was being discussed. Dylan was still telling her to give it time but it had been a while now since she had last seen her godson and he knew she was missing him like crazy.

"You can take the study." he offered. "I never use it. We can turn it into a bedroom. And I'm not saying you to sell your house. Keep it for holidays or kids parties or whatever…"

He would rather they had the birthdays and what not at her huge house with the indoor pool than at his house where the poor geese would eventually end up traumatized by children with grabby hands.

She thought it over for a few seconds and then propped her chin on his shoulder. "Are we serious about this? Are _you_ serious about this? Because I know my own feelings, Haymitch. I have known for quite a while now and I kept silent not to scare you away but… If you do this just because Katniss grew too attached, I… I am not sure I would recover from that."

He captured her lips in a kiss that was sweeter than what usually passed between them.

"I'm serious." he mumbled against her mouth. "I'm dead _fucking_ serious."

* * *

 _He IS dead fucking serious... Did you miss this story? Only two chapters to the end! Enjoy!_


	15. Chapter 15

**15.**

Chaff laughed for a whole hour when Haymitch told him everything but, to be fair, it might have had to do with Effie's and Katniss' dedication to turning the house into some sort of Santa Village. In the space of a couple of days, Christmas was suddenly _everywhere_. Katniss was a little frightened at first and valiantly resisted the whirlwind like he did, only watching while Effie brought over box upon box of decorations from her place.

It didn't take much for Effie to win the child over.

A tree – that _he_ was forced to carry and set up – a few Christmas carols that she loved to sing as loud as possible and Katniss was sold to the game that consisted in throwing tinsels everywhere. Even Buttercup didn't escape unscathed and was now sentenced to walking around with a red and green piece of tinsel around his neck for a collar. His porch was covered with fairy lights, so was the banister and some doorframes – he drew the line at the pen, arguing the geese might mistake the lights for birds and try to swallow them. There was mistletoe hanging in hidden places – something he wasn't actually against because it was an excuse to kiss Effie as often as he wanted – and paper snowflakes plastered on the windows.

Haymitch tried to remain uninvolved but with a four years old in the house, it was impossible. He lost count of the number of times he found himself dragged from his hiding place to help hang up some garland or decorative bows.

The last days before school break were hectic. Effie was swamped at the shop and he had to leave Katniss there sometimes to make sure there would be presents under the trees. The girl still disliked being separated from him but she loved spending time with Cinna, following him around and playing the assistant, so it wasn't that much of an issue – for him, for the stylist it might have been another matter entirely but Effie had picked up some gifts for Christmas as a thank you since, _apparently_ , they were doing _joined gifts_.

Still, he managed the impossible and by the time the last day of school rolled around, Haymitch was ready for the looming Christmas day.

What he wasn't ready for, on the other hand, was getting assaulted by a crying five years old.

Peeta was the first out the gates that afternoon but instead of running toward his brother, he dashed straight to Haymitch, hopping slightly in his hurry. The boy flung himself at him and it was all he could to do to grab him and hold him close.

Peeta had been at the heart of so many discussions, he had spent so much time comforting Effie and Katniss from his absence, that he hadn't realized justhow much _he_ had missed the kid.

"Hey, buddy…" he said uncertainly as the boy locked his tiny but strong arms around his neck. He held him tight. "What's wrong?"

"I miss you." Peeta sobbed. "And I miss Auntie. I want Auntie."

The child pressed his face in his shoulder and Haymitch frowned. "You're warm. Are you sick? Do you feel okay?"

"I want Auntie." Peeta repeated between two sobs.

The brother who was there to pick him up more often than not approached with some hesitation. He was in his twenties and if Haymitch remembered correctly, his name was Rye. He had a pastry wrapped in brown paper in his hand and didn't seem overly surprised by what was happening.

"You're Effie's boyfriend, right?" the young man asked. "Katniss' uncle. Peeta told me all about her."

"He's feverish." Haymitch snapped, pressing his check against the boy's forehead.

"Mom gave him some aspirin this morning. She says it's just a cold." the brother shrugged, peering at Peeta with some worry. "You're okay, Bread Boy? Look, I got you brownies. Your favorites…"

Peeta wouldn't look at his brother or at the offered brownies. He pushed his face in Haymitch's woolen scarf and kept on crying. The guy reached out, now clearly concerned, but Haymitch instinctively stepped back. He was protective with people he loved and, for better or worse, Peeta was now family too.

"Look, he wants his aunt." Haymitch growled, rubbing comforting circles on the boy's back.

"Yeah, I know." Rye sighed, reaching out again to adjust Peeta's scarf that had come loose. "Trust me, if I could… I tried to talk to Mom. This is _stupid_. Dad's finally getting somewhere with her, I think, so… Tell Effie to hang on a little more."

"Uncle Haymitch?" Katniss called, appearing at his side. Finnick, Jo and Annie were standing a few feet away with Mags, watching the scene unfold. From the way the old woman was holding Finnick's and Jo's shoulders, Haymitch figured the kids were ready to attack at the slightest order from his niece. The girl's grey eyes darted from the kid in his arms to the Mellark brother standing in front of him. "Can we take Peeta with us?"

She sounded incredibly hopeful and it killed him to have to crush her heart.

"Soon, kiddo." Rye answered with a small sad smile before he could. "I promise."

"Don't make promises you don't know you can keep." Haymitch warned, angry because of the hot tears he could feel rolling down his neck.

He expected the guy to get angry but he looked too understanding for his tastes. It made it hard to resent him.

"I thought about it, you know." the brother said. "Taking him to see her. He asks me every day and it's breaking my heart to say no. I almost took him… I can't tell you how many times. I thought it would make things worse if Mom learned about it."

"Your Mommy is _nasty_." Katniss spat. "And Peeta is going with _us_ because I'm going to marry him so he's _mine_ and you can't _ever_ take him again."

"Doesn't work quite that way, sweetheart." Haymitch sighed with some regret.

"I'm really sorry." Rye insisted and he _looked_ sorry. "I don't like it either. He begs for her all the way to school and all the way back and every other time I see him. I love my Mom but… She's not great with Peeta. She's old, you know? A grandmother already and…"

"That's no excuse." Haymitch scorned. "And that's no excuse to exclude Effie either after all she's done."

"I'm not saying it is." the guy shrugged. "I'm saying nobody agrees with Mom but she's a stubborn old mule and Effie overruled her one too many times 'cause she's a stubborn old mule too."

"Effie is the bestest." Katniss growled, her little fist clenched at her sides. "You _don't_ call her names or… or… Or I shoot you with my bow!"

If Effie had been there, she would probably have told the girl it was rude to threaten to kill people with your bow. Haymitch simply adjusted his grip on Peeta.

"The kid is sick." he repeated, knowing he needed to hand him back and not liking it one bit. At least the young man seemed to genuinely care about his brother. That was always something.

"I'll make sure he sees a doctor." Rye promised, carefully grabbing the boy from his arms. "Come on, Bread Boy."

Peeta _wailed_ – there was no other term for it. He clung to Haymitch's neck and kicked his brother when he tried to tear him away, to the point Katniss jumped in between them and kicked the guy in the shin very hard. Haymitch was thankful for the firm hold Mags had on the other kids because it was already chaos as it was.

"You don't love me anymore!" Peeta accused with glassy eyes.

"Don't be stupid, boy." Haymitch grumbled. "Of course, I do. We _all_ do."

It was an ugly scene when Rye finally managed to pry his brother from him with a pained face as if he _truly_ would have preferred to entrust the boy to Haymitch so he could be reunited with Effie. Bystanders were staring and he had to grab Katniss to make sure she wouldn't follow in pursuit. Annie was crying softly, clinging to Finnick's arm, and Jo was glaring at him so hard he couldn't meet her brown eyes.

It was nothing compared to Katniss though.

She struggled until he placed her down and when she turned to him, there was pure betrayal in her eyes.

"You let him take Peeta." she scowled. "I _hate_ you. _I hate you_!"

Jo escaped Mags' grip to run to her and the both of them stood there, defiant, and _furious_.

"You _suck_!" Johanna declared, tugging on Katniss' hand. "Come sleep at my house."

"Nobody is sleeping at anybody's house." Haymitch snapped. "Cut the theatrics. We're going home."

He didn't listen to any more protests. Despite his best efforts at reconciliation though, Katniss wouldn't talk to him. She walked a few feet in front of him, with a sulk stuck on her face and her lips pursed, and she behaved as if he was invisible.

He was in a foul mood by the time they reached their house and it only grew worse once she ran upstairs, grabbing Buttercup on the way, completely ignoring the cat's angry hisses. The door to her room was slammed shut.

Haymitch thought four was too early for teenage rebellion but he refused to give in to her tantrum and thus dropped on the couch with a book, focused on the story and not on the craving for liquor that always surged up when he was upset – and he _was_ upset at having been forced to leave Peeta behind.

When the front door opened a while later and Effie's sing-song voice announced her presence home, he heard the stomping of little feet on the stairs. If her gasp of surprise was to be believed, Effie hadn't expected the upset little girl who jumped in her arms.

"I hate Uncle Haymitch!" Katniss shrieked, loud enough to be heard three houses down the street he was sure. "I _hate_ him!"

"Now, Katniss, don't say things like that." Effie rebuked her firmly. "What on Earth happened? Everything was fine this morning…"

"He left Peeta behind!" the girl shouted. "He left him! And Peeta was _crying_!"

Haymitch rolled his eyes, pushed himself off the couch and walked to the hall where they were apparently having a family reunion. "You're done with this tune, girl?"

"What was wrong with Peeta?" Effie frowned, holding Katniss closer. She looked displeased.

"Feverish." Haymitch shrugged. "His brother said it was a cold."

"Oh, my!" Effie gasped, placing Katniss down to rummage in her purse. "I better call and…"

"You're _sure_ that's a good idea?" he hesitated. "That brother of his… He said his father was finally making progress with his mom. Maybe…"

"Peeta's brother called you a _mule_." Katniss cut him off, stomping her little foot in annoyance. "I kicked him."

Effie froze, opening and closing her mouth several times. "Katniss… Violence should never be an answer, even to defend someone you love."

"He called you a name." the girl insisted. "I'm _not_ sorry."

"Not quite what he said, though, was it?" Haymitch growled. "He said she was _stubborn_ as a mule. Which isn't exactly wrong."

"He _still_ called her a mule." Katniss insisted, folding her arms over her chest and turning her back on him. "I'm not talking to you anymore. I hate you."

He wished it didn't hurt that much.

"Stop saying that." Effie scolded her in a no-nonsense voice and the girl defiantly jutted her chin in the air before looking down with a pout after a few seconds. "He was sick and you left him there?"

That question was directed at him and Haymitch rolled his eyes. "What was I supposed to do? Kidnap him?"

Effie granted him the point with a tilt of the head but he could tell she was just as annoyed with him as Katniss was, even though she knew there was nothing he could have done. He rolled his eyes again and decided to start dinner, leaving the two of them to commiserate over how useless he was.

Katniss still hadn't forgiven him by the time she went to bed – she even refused to kiss him goodnight, she wanted Effie and _only_ Effie. He tried not to resent it. He failed.

He was already in bed when Effie joined him, still toying with her phone.

"It's too late to call." he grumbled. "Look, we can send Chaff to the bakery tomorrow. He's good at undercover work."

"Because a black man with a missing hand showing up and asking after their youngest child when Peeta has been talking about him non-stop won't be suspicious at all." Effie scoffed.

"Point taken." he sighed. "Well, I don't know… We'll figure something out, alright?"

"I will call Dylan in the morning." she replied. "You are right, calling now would simply be bad manners and it is most likely a simple cold. A phone call is the middle of the night is never a good thing."

A phone call in the middle of the night was _never_ a good thing.

Which was why Haymitch startled badly, looking for a knife that wasn't there, when the latest fashionable pop song blazed out of her phone at two in the morning. She was slower in waking up and he grabbed it before she even opened her eyes.

 _Dylan Mellark_ , the screen claimed.

He shook her shoulder. She woke up quickly once she saw the name and pressed the phone to her ear, sitting up and mumbling a _hello_. He watched her, the sheets and blankets pooling on her lap as her fingers started to shake and her face crumpled in worry. She didn't say a word aside for a flat "I'm coming". Her hands were shaking too much and she dropped the phone.

"Peeta is in the hospital." she said.

* * *

 _Only one chapter left and a niiiiiice little cliffhanger! ;) Let me know your thoughts!_


	16. Chapter 16

**16.**

"You don't have to come." she offered as she hastily slipped on a woolen sweater over her tank top.

"Don't be stupid." he scoffed while he did the very same.

A testament to the seriousness of the situation, she didn't even try to change out of her pajamas pants, she simply put boots on. Haymitch hurried to Katniss' room and picked her up, still sleeping. The girl was only half awake when he bundled her in her coat and she fell back asleep in the car.

Effie was already behind the wheel. He made a face but didn't comment. He was still forced to remind her three times that speed limitations were there for a reason and that they had _his kid_ in the car.

She slowed down every time but kept speeding up five minutes later. Her body was there with them but her mind wasn't.

She didn't park the car she simply stopped it and rushed inside the hospital before he could say anything. He moved it to the proper parking lot and carefully got Katniss out. The girl stretched and grabbed his coat, starting to wake up but still sleepy enough that he didn't bother with explanations just yet.

Effie hadn't gone far.

She was at the main desk, arguing with the nurse on duty.

It was odd to be the peacemaker, odd to be the one to tell her to calm down and breathe and to explain the situation calmly and clearly so the woman could direct them in the right direction, odd to be the responsible adult for once.

"Uncle Haymitch?" Katniss whispered, tightening her hold on his neck as Effie hurriedly walked a few steps ahead to the ward the nurse had sent them to.

"It's okay, sweetheart." he hushed her. "Go back to sleep."

"Why are we in the bad place?" the girl insisted, wriggling in his arms.

"Bad place?" he repeated, confused and very much focused on Effie's back in front of him. She looked a bit ridiculous in her pajamas pants – _his_ pajamas pants really – her pink coat and her boots. He figured he didn't look better in his own sweatpants and jacket.

"Are you going to leave me?" Katniss asked, her lips wobbling a little. "Like Mommy, Daddy and my Prim? They left last time I was here."

And it hit him right then that bringing his niece to the hospital hadn't been his smartest move. She had been brought there after the accident. It was probably there that she had been told her family was dead. It was where her entire world had collapsed.

"No, Katniss." he said firmly. "I'm not leaving. Nobody's leaving. We're here 'cause Peeta's sick."

"Peeta?" she frowned.

Shouts echoed before he could start explaining.

Effie was in such a state he should really have seen it coming.

He recognized the boy from that very afternoon first – Peeta's brother – and it was a good thing the kid had reflexes because he swiftly placed himself between Effie and who Haymitch assumed to be his parents before Effie could commit a murder.

"I _swear_ on _everything_ I have that if _anything_ happens to this child I will _sue_ you for everything you own." she screeched, pointing an accusative finger at the woman sitting on a blue plastic chair. "I will make your life _a living hell_ , do you hear me?"

Haymitch had spent so much time listening to awful stories about Liddy Mellark that he had started to picture her like one of the evil witches in Katniss' cartoons. The woman sitting on that chair looked old, tired and defeated. Not quite a witch. Not quite what a mother should be either.

The father stood up. Dylan Mellark looked just as old as his wife and even more tired.

"He was just a little feverish this morning, Effie." the man said defensively. "We thought it was a cold…"

"Peeta is _fragile!"_ Effie hissed, still pointing her finger at Liddy. "Which is _why_ he _needs_ to go to his medical appointments _every week_. He needs special care. He needs _attention_. Nothing _she_ can be bothered to give him."

"Effie." Haymitch cut in, quiet but firm.

They were making a scene worthy of a soap opera. It was late enough that the waiting room wasn't full to the brim but the few people scattered in there were certainly enjoying the show.

Not that Effie cared.

"If _anything_ happens to Peeta, Liddy… Anything _at all_ … I swear…" she growled.

"Is Peeta going to die?" Katniss asked, her frightened voice succeeding where he had failed.

Effie immediately shut up and turned to them, her eyes darting from him to the girl.

"No, no, no…" she whispered, outstretching her arms for Katniss. Haymitch handed his niece over willingly enough, thinking it might be best because Effie would never willingly hurt or frighten a kid. "No, sweetie, no. Peeta is going to be _just_ fine, you will see."

"Do they know what's wrong with him yet?" he asked since nobody had volunteered the information.

Dylan Mellark shook his head. "They're doing tests. He was burning up, we couldn't bring the fever down…"

"Does he have Toothless? Did you remember to take it with you?" Effie asked weakly. "He will be scared without his dragon…"

"It's back at the house." Liddy said in a snappish worried tone. "He's six. He shouldn't need stuffed toys anymore."

Haymitch thought Effie was going to bite her head off, so he – _wisely,_ in his opinion – guided her to a plastic chair _apart_ from the Mellark family. He forced her to sit her down, making sure Katniss settled on her lap so he was certain they would both stay put.

The poor girl looked scared and lost. Haymitch hated seeing her distressed.

"I'm going to call Uncle Chaff, sweetheart." he told her, brushing her hair away from her face. "He'll pick you up and get you back home. Shouldn't have brought you along."

Katniss leaned against Effie's chest, her best stubborn scowl on her face. "I don't want Uncle Chaff."

"Katniss." he sighed, irritated by her usual obstinacy.

"Leave her be." Effie objected quietly, wrapping her arms around the child's waist. "We should all stay together."

"Like a team." Katniss mumbled.

"Like a team, exactly." she repeated in a tired whisper.

Haymitch didn't hide his annoyance but granted the request with a shrug.

" _You two_ teaming up against _me_ , more like." he grumbled.

The wait was a long one and it wasn't made any easier by the heavy looks everyone was exchanging. Katniss fell back asleep quickly. Effie petted the girl's hair absentmindedly, a vacant look in her eyes, barely mustering a smile when Haymitch offered to get her some coffee. It wasn't some nice gesture on his part, he just couldn't bear the silence any longer.

He got coffee for her and he got some for Rye too because the kid looked rattled and, as far as Haymitch was concerned, _he_ had done nothing to deserve their contempt.

When the doctor _finally_ showed up, Effie was the first to bolt to her feet – after having carefully laid Katniss down on the chairs next to her.

"Is Peeta alright?" she asked.

For a moment, the doctor looked taken aback, unsure who to address. Given that the Mellarks – saved for Rye – hung back, the man turned to Effie and summed up what was happening, what had been done and what would need to happen.

Peeta had an infection. They had started treating it but he would need to remain in the hospital for a few days. They wanted to be particularly careful because of his leg and his medical history.

"He's allowed visitors but he's very tired and I would like him to get some proper rest." the doctor concluded. "For tonight… Maybe just his parents? I guess you will want to spend the night with him, that's absolutely possible…"

Haymitch could almost _feel_ Effie's distress from where he was still sitting. He glanced at Katniss to make sure she was still asleep before walking to her, placing a hand at the small of her back in support.

"I would like to see him, yes." Liddy declared, sounding almost harsh but Haymitch thought he could detect relief underneath. Or maybe it was sheer whishing on his part. "But we're not staying, his godmother is. If decisions need to be made, she's the one you want to talk to." The woman stood up and didn't look at any of them, she simply paused next to Effie on her way. "He was asking for you. He's _always_ asking for you."

"He would love you if you just _let him_." Effie breathed out. "He is just _a boy_ , he…"

"He's my son." Liddy snorted. "But I'm not his mother."

The doctor looked absolutely puzzled but he lost no time in handing over the whole crazy family to a nurse.

It took a while for the Mellarks to leave Peeta's room. Effie rushed to his bedside as soon as they were gone, running her fingers through his hair, talking in soft murmurs and smiling through her tears. The boy remained asleep.

Haymitch stayed outside the room and watched them through the plastic window that gave on the corridor, Katniss dead to the world in his arms. He could feel her soft regular breaths rolling against his neck and, for a second, he closed his eyes and let himself be washed by _relief_. If they had lost the boy…

"You can go in with your wife, sir." the nurse said, not unkindly.

He didn't bother correcting her assumption."Is it safe for my kid?"

He didn't want Katniss to come down with whatever Peeta had caught. Granted, it was his fragile state of health that had made it so bad but… He didn't want to risk it.

"I don't see why not." the nurse offered before smiling at the sleeping girl. "I'll get you a blanket for her."

There was an armchair and a plastic chair in the room, he laid Katniss down on the former and took the latter. Effie was sitting on the edge of the bed, as close to Peeta as she could be. She didn't even glance at him, she was entirely focused on the boy.

The pure look of love on her face was like a punch in the guts.

"I won't let that witch push me aside again." she said quietly after a long moment. "I'll fight her."

"I don't think you'll have to." he commented.

It seemed to him the war had been won that night.

Peeta was still feverish the following day and he didn't look very aware of what was going on around him, to Katniss' great dismay. Rye was the first Mellark to show up, with a bag full of clothes for his brother and the Toothless stuffed toy.

Haymitch suggested they took advantage of his presence to drive home and back – if only to get dressed and get something to eat that wasn't a tasteless sandwich from the cafeteria – but he was ignored both by his niece and Effie. Katniss remained sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, watching Peeta like a hawk, often replacing Toothless in his arms when the boy knocked it off in his fever induced delirium. Effie paced, sometimes sending out a distracted text when her phone beeped. Haymitch slumped in the armchair and dozed off for a while.

Portia and Cinna arrived mid-morning with clothes for the three of them. Since Liddy and Dylan _finally_ showed up around the same time, they took the opportunity to go change and take a breath of fresh air outside. Effie was anxious all the time it lasted, uncharacteristically snappish and waving away Portia's several offers to help her with her make-up. It was the first time Haymitch had seen her willingly appear in public with her hair tousled and her face bare. She was still beautiful, of course, but she was usually so self-conscious about it that it told him all he needed to know about her state of mind.

When they went back to the room, Liddy left without a word. Dylan lingered a little longer but Effie wasn't in the mood for his apologies and explanations. As for Haymitch, he had no interest in any of that. He barely listened when the baker told him he had signed hospital papers that legally gave Effie power over Peeta's medical decisions.

Peeta remained incoherent the whole day when he wasn't sleeping. The doctor insisted it only was to be expected because of the heavy medications. According to him, he should wake up properly soon.

Haymitch tried to convince Effie to get some sleep but without success. He suggested she took Katniss back home for the night, promising to stay and call if there was any change but she wouldn't relent on that either.

She looked terrible and he didn't want to leave her… He tried not to feel guilty or like he was the worst guardian when he called Chaff for help but he also didn't want the girl to spend another night at the hospital. His best friend accepted at once, naturally, but he also had to drag Katniss away kicking and screaming.

"You should go with them." Effie winced. "You could get some real sleep and…"

"She'll be fine with Chaff." he cut her off coldly, annoyed with the whole situation. He didn't like listening to Katniss crying on a good day and it _wasn't_ a good day.

Spending the night in the hospital hadn't been fun the previous day, it wasn't any funnier that time. Effie dropped asleep in the armchair despite her best attempts at fighting it. He spent most of the night playing candy crush on her phone until his sight blurred to distract himself from the uncomfortable plastic chair that was making his butt numb.

He was still trying to align colorful candies when Toothless' head nudged the phone, almost tentatively, and he looked up into clear blue eyes that didn't seem to know if what they were seeing was real.

His first instinct was to put his hand on the boy's forehead to check his temperature. For the first time in days, Peeta's skin was cool to the touch. He smiled to the kid, brushing his sandy blond hair back.

"Welcome back, buddy." he smirked.

The boy's lips stretched impossibly wide and he lifted his arms for a hug Haymitch was only too happy to give.

"Auntie Effie?" the boy requested, almost pleading. Haymitch gently let go of him to nod at the armchair in the corner. Tears of relief and happiness shined in the kid's eyes and he took pity on him.

He crouched next to the armchair and gently poked Effie's shoulder. "Wake up, sweetheart." She whined her disapproval and tried to curl up on herself. He shook her a little more firmly. "Effie." She opened her eyes and rubbed her face, glaring at him. "Someone wants to talk to you."

She briefly frowned and then she grinned. She was out of that armchair and on the bed before he even had time to stand up, Peeta safely embraced in her arms. The boy was half crying and half giggling while she peppered his hair and cheeks with kisses, promising again and again to never let anyone keep him from her ever again.

There was no separating them after that and Haymitch didn't even try. He flopped down on the armchair when she settled down on the bed with Peeta, watching the two of them exchanging secret whispers until they both fell back asleep.

He didn't realize he had dozed off until a cannon ball plummeted against his legs and hugged them for dear life. He barely had time to open his eyes and recognize Katniss that she was gone with a scream of joy when Peeta called her name.

Effie tried to tell the kids to be calm and to keep it down but, soon, their joyful chatter filled the room and she was grinning too hard for them to take her seriously. The two of them were hugging, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Haymitch hauled himself out of the armchair and joined Chaff who was leaning against the doorframe.

"You look good." he mocked.

"You look even better." Chaff chuckled. "And your girl… She's a _sight_."

Effie brought her hand to her face self-consciously, probably realizing she hadn't bothered with make-up for two days straight and wasn't at her best, before shrugging it off – proof if any was needed that she was _exhausted_.

"Did Katniss behave?" she asked, leaving the kids to their heartfelt reunion to join them.

"Sure. We had a great time." Chaff offered. "She was a bit upset at first but… I won her over."

"How many times did she make you watch _Brave_?" Haymitch snorted.

"Three times." his best friend admitted with a wince. "Then I begged for _Pocahontas_. Man, when did we get so knowledgeable on _fucking_ _Disney princesses_?"

" _Fuck_ if I know." he mumbled, tossing a look at the kids. They seemed happy enough. "Can you drive Effie home?"

"What? _No_." Effie protested. "I am staying."

"You are going home to get some _real_ rest." Haymitch replied firmly. "Get a shower, some proper food and a _nap._ I don't want to see you back here until at least _four_ pm. When you come back, I'll go home with Katniss and come back in the morning. We can trade shifts."

She didn't look entirely happy with that. She looked at Peeta, biting down on her bottom lip. "Chaff doesn't need to drive me." she wavered after a few minutes. "My car is still here and I will need it to come back…"

"Take mine for the ride back." he shrugged.

He would rather drive his truck than her sport car anyway. She hesitated some more, chewing on her bottom lip, and then surrendered with a nod.

The goodbyes with Peeta were tearful. Even after explaining she would come back in a couple of hours, the boy was still distressed and barely appeased by the fact Haymitch and Katniss were staying with him. He started crying well before Effie left the room and if Chaff hadn't firmly ushered her out, Haymitch was certain she would never have left. Her blue eyes were suspiciously bright as it was.

"Don't be sad!" Katniss demanded more than she requested. "Look! I'm wearing the ring. I'll marry you so you're happy again. Look."

The plastic ring was back on his niece's finger.

It worked like magic.

Peeta stopped crying and they soon were back to chatting and laughing. When the boy eventually surrendered to sleep, Katniss placed Toothless on the other side of the bed, curled up against Peeta as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and she napped too.

Haymitch could barely deal with all the nurses gushing over how cute they were.

Still, he fumbled with his phone for a while until he managed to snap a picture. He sent it to Effie so she would find it when she woke up from her own nap.

Dealing with kids stuck in a room was exhausting. Dealing with kids when one of them was trapped in bed was _hell_. They grew bored of the board games the nurse brought them in a matter of minutes, they requested stories and, since that was Effie's department more than his, grew bored of that too…

He was almost relieved when the Mellarks showed up. _Almost_.

He didn't get out of the room to give them privacy this time, not with Peeta awake and glancing at him every so often. He remained where he was sitting on the armchair and watch with unabashed amusement as Katniss stared her friend's family down. The only one who was treated to an enthusiastic welcome was Rye and it was probably only because he was bearing gifts – _Avengers_ trade cards, books, toys, anything he had thought his brother would enjoy…

As for the Mellarks…

They were cold.

Haymitch could see they were making an effort, even the mother, but Peeta remained sullen throughout the whole visit and it only grew worse when Liddy declared it was time to go.

"I'm going home with Auntie." Peeta declared petulantly, a determined sulk on his face.

Haymitch was happy to see _nobody_ contested _that_.

Effie came back looking fresh and rested, her blond hair neatly pinned in a functional but classy ponytail, hips swaying in a tight red skirt paired with a green cashmere sweater.

"It is _Christmas-y_." she winked when he accused her of being colorblind.

"It's hot enough to give anyone a fever." he retorted smoothly, stealing a brief kiss. "Can't be good in a hospital."

She rolled her eyes but she looked pleased nonetheless.

Detaching Katniss from Peeta caused another scene. The girl wanted to stay, have a sleepover even, Haymitch could go without her, she said – if _Effie_ was there, apparently it wouldn't be so bad not to have _him,_ and, yeah, he felt jealous and irritated about that, too used to being the only one his niece wanted.

After all the kids had put him through that day, he almost granted that request but, in the end, he took pity on Effie and dragged Katniss back home with him.

The girl sulked in the car, she sulked when he opened the door and she was still sulking when he collapsed on the couch, his eyelids immediately drooping.

He was attacked by a furry thing with claws and teeth who jumped on his lap and stared at him with a judgmental nasty look.

"Buttercup is hungry." Katniss declared with a disdainful sniff. "I want pasta too."

Haymitch took a deep breath and blew it out _very_ slowly.

Half an hour later, Katniss was having an early dinner, Buttercup was eating – cat food and _not_ pasta – and he had checked on the geese. Haymitch wasn't hungry but he was ready to _collapse_ right where he was standing. His niece wasn't sleepy though and it wasn't late enough that he could just tuck her in and hope she would fall asleep soon.

He let her put a dvd in the player, his eyelids barely twitching when he recognized the _Brave_ menu. How many times could she watch this thing and not be bored? _How many times?_ He pressed play and settled down for a _long_ movie. Katniss was sitting on the rug, her Mockingjay and Lady on either side of her, mouthing the lines along with the characters.

Haymitch took the opportunity to stretch and lie down on the couch.

He fell asleep before the story truly started and only startled awake when the end credits rolled on the screen, mainly because of the dead weight on his chest. He had grown used to being used as a cushion by a five years old and her various stuffed toys in the last months but it didn't make it any more comfortable.

"Come on, sweetheart." he whispered, his voice raspy from sleep. "Time for bed."

This time, Katniss didn't fight him. She brushed her teeth, half dead on her feet, and crawled into bed without even requesting a story. He still waited until she was truly asleep to wander to the bathroom. A quick shower later, he _finally_ lied down on his bed.

And _obviously_ he tossed and turned until he rolled his eyes at his own stupidity and reached for Effie's pillow. It was too soft for his taste but it smelt like her. He slept like a baby.

It more or less established a pattern for the following days.

Haymitch relieved Effie in early morning, she went home to sleep for a few hours before swinging by the store and eventually coming back in late afternoon. Katniss tended to stay with him but she sometimes wanted to sleep in in the mornings, in which case he waited for Effie to drive home before heading to the hospital.

For almost a week, their path only crossed for a few minutes a day. They texted and called and kissed each other good morning and goodnight – _despite_ the kids' giggling – but it was starting to become taxing.

Christmas morning rolled on them before they knew it.

Katniss was looking at the gifts wrapped in glossy gold papers under the tree with wary eyes. He had _told_ Effie she was going overboard with the golden glitter.

"You can start if you want." he encouraged her, nudging her toward the tree. "There's another gift coming later."

Buttercup, at least, looked interested in the wrapped boxes. He sniffed everything and hissed when Haymitch pushed him away.

Katniss carefully opened one gift, as if she was scared something would jump out and attack her, but relaxed when she found a Merida framed poster for her room – _that_ had been a safe bet. She looked pleased enough with the rest of the toys he had gotten her.

There were still a few boxes under the tree when she was done unwrapping her gifts.

"Who are they for?" she frowned. "Maybe Santa got it wrong."

"Maybe." he shrugged. "What do you want for breakfast?"

It was almost noon and they were in the middle of _Frozen_ – Effie's gift and he _wasn't_ going to thank her for it because he could already tell that he would be hating _let it go_ before long since Katniss had insisted on watching the scene four times before going on – when the front door opened.

"Surprise!" Effie sing-sang.

"Peeta!" Katniss squealed in delight, hugging the boy in an uncharacteristic demonstration of happiness.

"I see Santa came by last night…" Effie hummed. She went mostly ignored. Katniss was already tugging Peeta toward the rest of the presents.

"Save your breath, sweetheart." he snorted, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss against her neck. "They don't care about us anymore. We're old news. There are new _toys_."

She laughed but leaned against his chest, looking exhausted but happy. "Should we tell them about us moving together or should we wait?"

He looked at the two five years old busy tearing up golden wrapping papers and shrugged. "We'll tell them tonight. Let them enjoy _Santa'_ s presents."

"Santa should think about giving his elf a raise." she teased. "She did an _awful_ _lot_ of wrapping."

"Like Portia and Cinna didn't do most of that." he mocked.

She pursed her lips and tilted her head but it was plain to see she was fighting a smile.

Soon they were horded to the couch by excited kids who wouldn't calm down until Effie had them sitting down with mugs full of hot chocolate. They had settled down for ten blessed minutes when Chaff invited himself in with a jovial _ho, ho, ho._

 _Frozen_ was discarded for _Ratatouille,_ because neither of the kids had seen it yet and because _Santa_ had brought it at Chaff's _by mistake,_ so it must have been good. Uncle Chaff was forced to sit down and was treated to some hot chocolate too.

Haymitch sipped from his mug, stretched his free arm on the back of the couch and watched his family just as much as he watched the movie.

Peeta declared it _the best Disney ever_ and Haymitch could guess a stuffed rat would join the stuffed Toothless before long.

Katniss was a little less sold but she was content enough to see her friend in good spirits.

As for Haymitch…

He was simply happy.

It seemed impossible that he had first met Katniss only a few months earlier. To him it was as if she had always been there. He couldn't imagine his life without her in it. Or the people she had brought with her.

They had a whole new life ahead of them now.

And he intended to make the most of it.

 **THE END**

* * *

 _The eeeeend! Did you like it? I encourage you to check out Archervale's work on tumblr if you did, this story wouldn't have existed without her art to inspire it. I hope you enjoyed this last chapter and this little story. Please, let me know!  
_

 _And if you liked it, check out my new hayffie story next week, called "April Showers"._


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